Pizza and Portals
by Eskimo-Otter
Summary: "You can't do this to us! We're HUMAN BEINGS!" The response made my stomach wrench violently, "Not for long."   How did this happen? Why did this happen? I don't know but I did know two things: 1. We were in the TMNT world and 2. We were in BIG trouble.
1. The Night Before

**Eskimo: Hello all! I am Eskimo aka FeatherGirl13 and this is my friend Bunnie!**

**Bunnie: Heyo everyone! I hope you will enjoy our fic! It WILL be sexy 3**

**Eskimo: So anyways welcome to our TMNT fic! A few things that you should know:**

**1. Me and Bunnie will each take turns writing a chapter each in our own character's POV (I'm Ana, she's Cleo) and sometimes the chapters will be split up with both of us writing the same chapter. **

**2. This mostly takes place in the 2K3 verse with splashes of other TMNT worlds (kinda like **_**Turtles Forever**_**- LOVED IT!) so there will some differences than the 2K3 cartoon. **

**3. Also this is our FIRST fic (well my first that wasn't a oneshot…I don't recommend you read my older work…it's bad ;) so please give us CONSTRUCTIVE criticism and comments! Flames shall be used in Bunnie's pursuit to take over the world. **

**Eskimo and Bunnie: Neither of us own TMNT cuz if we did Donnie would be Bunnie's personal stripper and Mikey would serve us pizza in sexy leather suit! On with the story!**

_**Pizza and Portals**_

_A beautiful young woman, with long wavy raven hair and eyes that sparkled like emeralds in the pale moonlight shone with tears as she looked at the rugged handsome male standing before her._

"_Oh Richard, please don't say it is so!" she cried clutching to him desperately. The man, now known as Richard, looked down at her with a solemn gaze with the look of never-ending sorrow in his perfect pale blue eyes._

"_I'm afraid it is so my darling angel," he said dramatically, "I'm…dying of a new unknown disease that has never been recorded before… and there's no cure."_

"_Oh Richard!" The woman wailed as she hid her face in her perfect hands._

"Oh my effing jeez."

"_But fear not my love, for our love is so strong that it will never die!"_

"Wow…this is so _cheesy _I might not ever look at another dairy product the same way ever again."

"_Oh Richard…" The woman said, tears streaming down her beautiful porcelain face with a sad smile._

"Ok that's it. I'm going AWOL."

_The pair of star-crossed lovers shared a beautiful loving embrace that was sealed with a-_

"_-Doh!"_

"Ah _The Simpsons_. Full of crude humor, barely contained innuendos and a dash of family values. Let the brain rotting commence." A small pale teenage girl holding a silver remote grinned and nestled into the couch she was currently occupying, burying herself into the multiple blankets the laid strewn over the piece of furniture. The girl was rather petite, reaching a height of only five feet (and one-half inch if you wanted to be precise) and was wearing an oversized black t-shirt with gray flannel pj pants. Her face was round in shape, and was covered in freckles that varied in size and shape. Her eyes were a light gray color, but were usually hidden by her oval-rimmed glasses and her black bangs that hung in her face. Her hair was cut pixie short, and hung limply at odd angles, as if she never brushed it…which she didn't.

"Indeed." Another teenage girl, who was sitting on the opposite end of the couch, giggled as she focused on the sight of one Homer Simpson strangle/choke his eldest and only son Bart, laughing out loud when Bart retaliated with a punch to his father's eye. This girl was slightly taller than her companion (five feet four inches); she was wearing a lime green camisole with hot pink pj pants. Her long and slightly wavy ginger hair fell to the middle of her back, with her bangs swept stylishly to the side. Her face was heart-shaped, also covered in freckles, which dimpled when she smiled. Her eyes were a dark shade of green.

"Oh my god. That was so funny." Laughed the redhead as the popular show went to credits. The brunette beside grinned in agreement as she observed her giggling friend. They fell into a calm silence silently watching the way overdone commercial ads and messages.

The brunette, being an avid hater of awkward silences, turned to her friend as said in a slow drawl, "Sooooooo, Cleo…"

The redhead, now labeled as Cleo, turned her head. Quirking a brow and her lips tugging upward and mimicked her friend's voice, "Sooooooo, Ana…what's up?"

Tilting her head, Ana asked, "Are you still dating that Jim-whatshisface?"

The small grin Cleo had promptly disappeared as she sighed, "No…he was being a total dick and I decided to end it before it could get worse." She shook her head slightly in disgust at the memory of her now ex-boyfriend. Good riddance of crap she didn't need.

Ana winced, "Aw crap. Sorry for bringing it up dude." She pushed up her glasses that seemed to be constantly falling down her nose, and pushed her bangs out of the way to see her friend shaking her head and grinning at her, "No don't be. Besides I'd rather be here spending time with you than with some jerk-off, Babycakes."

Ana smiled at her friend's enthusiasm. No matter what, Cleo always seemed to try and make the best of a crappy situation. Cleo always managed to pick herself up off the ground and keep walking and helping others up as well. That was actually how Ana met Cleo in her freshman year of high school. Ever since, they had been great friends.

"Well I'm glad. Besides you could do _so _much better than that dickweed; guys will be lining up at your door just to have a chance to see you." And it was true. Cleo could have just about any guy she wanted, she was definitely pretty enough. Ana took in Cleo's curvy figure and pleasing features, and then looked at her own flatter and plain-looking physique. She sighed; yep Cleo was definitely very, very pretty. She had had a good couple of boyfriends too, some more longer-lasting and others that lasted only for a few short weeks. How many boyfriends had Ana had again? Oh that's right: zero.

Noticing Ana's slightly bummed out look; Cleo knew instantly what her friend was thinking again. Rolling her eyes and grinning, she locked her friend into a headlock taking relish in the surprised yelp that the smaller girl produced.

"Heeey, stop down-sizing yourself! You are _very _cute and attractive. You're practically a Lolita! And one day, real soon I bet, you're gonna come across a guy who will think that you're the sexiest thing alive and he is going to _adore_ you! And then you're both going to get married, and have lots and lots of babies and live happily ever after in Disneyland where I will visit and then we can go on Space Mountain together…if I ever get over my fear of roller coasters." Cleo finished her pep talk with a slightly disturbed face as she remembered her last experience on the mentioned amusement park ride. It hadn't gone well. Not. At. All.

Ana stared up at her friend, her head still locked in Cleo's arms, bemused. "You really think so C?" she asked softly, feeling slightly better. Cleo, having snapped out of her roller coaster stupor, released her friend from her hold and grinned boldly at her, "I don't think, I _know_." She replied smugly, putting her hands on her hips.

Ana smiled, "Thanks C. You always know how to make things better." Cleo smirked and flipped her hair and said in a haughty tone, "Was there ever any doubt? I know everything." She struck a pose and batted her eyes. Ana grinned and replied, "Oh yes how could the thought even cross my mind? For she is Queen Cleopatra of the Nile and she possesses everlasting wisdom and knowledge." Cleo squealed and tackled her friend on the couch, "Don't call me that! Or shall I have to refer to you by your given name Miss Anastasia?"

Ana laughed both in humor and in horror of her full name. She shook her head rapidly, her short hair flying about, "No! Anything but that!" The two friends laughed and wrestled playfully. Ana had gotten Cleo into a headlock (revenge for earlier) and was giving her a noogie when an announcement from the TV made them stop dead.

"_Special News Bulletin: 8 more people have gone missing the past 2 weeks!" _

Ana immediately released her hold on Cleo and they sat erect on the couch, all traces of amusement gone as they stared anxiously at the TV screen. A blonde woman in a smart business suit seated next to a man also wearing a business suit and glasses appeared on screen and began their report.

"_Hello and welcome to Night News. I'm Karen and this is my co-worker James and we're here to bring you the latest news concerning the massive missing persons case that has been going on these past 6 months. These 8 additional missing people have brought the missing person count to a total of 98 people. "_

The girls shot each other a worried look and quickly looked back to the reporters.

"_Authorities are completely baffled by the rise in missing persons as 5 more people have gone missing in these last 2 weeks without a single trace. There has been little to no progress as to where these people have gone, who have taken them, or if they are even still alive."_

Ana gasped softly and Cleo promptly crossed herself and said a soft prayer for the missing people.

"_There has been no particular pattern or similarities between the missing people other than that they were young, late teens to early twenties, and were last seen at nighttime. It is with this information that we strongly urge all adolescents to lock their doors, travel in groups, especially at night, and to please be careful. Also we plead that if __**anyone **__has seen __**any **__of these people to contact authorities immediately."_

Pictures of the people began to show on the screen, along with their names, ages, and the dates when they had last been seen. Cleo and Ana stared sadly at these pictures, knowing that it was very possible that none of these people would ever been seen again. People who had friends, families who loved them and missed them...it was terrible.

It began about 6 months ago, when suddenly out of nowhere 9 people went missing the same night. Police searched everywhere and came up with nothing, and then, only 2 weeks later, 4 more people had vanished as well. As the weeks turned into months, the police still came up with nothing, and the numbers began to rise higher and higher. Parents refused to let their children out of their sight, everyone went everywhere practically armed to the teeth, and no one ever went out at night anymore. It was chaos…absolute chaos.

"My god." Ana whispered suddenly, as a new picture flashed on the screen, her eyes widening to the size of saucers. "C-Cleo isn't that Jenna Wills from the cheering team at school?" She asked, her voice shaking. Cleo's eyes also widened at the picture on the screen. It was a girl, around 18 or so, with long dirty blonde hair and brown eyes, smiling brightly at the camera, with a background of rose bushes behind her. It was her, Jenna Wills. Cleo had graduated the year before and Ana had just graduated but both girls remembered Jenna from the cheering team. She had been nice and friendly to mostly everyone and was also kind to Cleo and Ana. They hadn't been close friends but they had said hi to each other in the halls almost daily.

And now she was missing too.

"Oh my god…" Cleo whispered her hand covering her mouth, Ana was shaking her head in…shock, pity, fear? Probably all three. Then something dinged in the back of her memory that made her heart stop, then speed up quite rapidly. Ana turned to Cleo and the look on her face told that she remembered too.

Jenna had lived only 6 blocks away from Ana.

Right now, Ana and Cleo were the only ones staying in the house. Her mother had gone to a well-deserved vacation (also with an immense of persuasion on Ana's part) in Vegas with some friends for the weekend, and her sister was at summer camp with her own friends. Ana's mother hadn't wanted her to stay home alone so she invited Cleo to stay over for the weekend until her mother got back.

The silence was cold and high with tension. Once again Ana, hating the silence, stood up suddenly, "Hey Cleo you want some more soda?" she asked with a too cheery grin. Cleo mirrored her friend's grin and nodded, "Sure, you got Coke?"

"Always do." chirped Ana as she strolled into the kitchen. She opened the fridge and grabbed two cans of Coke and began walking back to the TV room. As she was passing the front hallway she saw something out of the corner of her eye that stopped her dead in her tracks.

The front door was open. Open ajar, _with its hinges loose_.

"Oh…oh _shit_."

A piercing scream shattered Ana's thoughts as she jerked her head towards the sound.

_Oh my god! CLEO!_

Without thinking Ana ran immediately to the room where she had left Cleo.

"_OH SHIT!"_

They were everywhere. At least 10 of them. People, dressed in black suits and dark sunglasses (even though it was nighttime) in her living room. And between two of them, struggling like her life depended on it (because it did) was her best friend. Ana saw red.

Letting out of warlike scream, she threw the two cans of Coke at the two offending men who dared restrain her friend. One made contact with one guy's head and lost his hold on Cleo's right arm, causing her to lash out more violently. The other can missed the second guy completely and ended up smashing her mom's computer. Crap.

Cleo turned to Ana and screamed, "Run Ana! RUN!" All too quickly, the white-hot rage that had engulfed Ana moments ago was replaced by ice cold fear. She stood frozen, part of her screaming to run like Cleo said and the other screaming that she couldn't leave Cleo behind!

Ana was jerked out of her inner monologue when two large strong hands gripped her forearms from behind. Suddenly the reality of the situation came crashing down into Ana's mind and she began to scream, kick, hit, bite doing whatever she could to try and free herself. But there was only two of them and 10 (now 11) of the bad guys.

Cleo was also screaming and kicking and sobbing as she tried to get away but it was useless. The people in black dragged the girls outside and into the middle of the street. Ana got ready to scream her loudest; a damp rag was place over her mouth and nose. The smell was thick and stale and her vision began to blur. Ana also saw that Cleo had been given the same treatment and was beginning to fight less and less.

Through their foggy vision, the two girls watched dazed as one of the guys in black tossed a small disc-like object on the ground. The object began to glow a bright white color and suddenly a beam of light, about 10 feet high shot into the air. The beam began to grow wider and the light became brighter, until it stopped to become like a big bright rectangle.

No…not a rectangle…a _door_.

Finally succumbing to the drugs in their system, the last thing the girls saw was that big blinding white light.

Then there was only darkness.


	2. Torture

**Bunnie & Eskimo: We are so SOOOOOORRRRRYYYYY!**

**Eskimo: I know we've been slacking, and we're really sorry.**

**Bunnie: But it's been hectic with college and work…**

**Eskimo: BUT to make it up to you, we are posting TWO chapters today!**

**Bunnie: That's right! DOUBLE the sexiness! **

**Eskimo: So let's get this show on the road! Oh and we don't own anything but the shirts on our backs! **

**Bunnie: Ditto!**

-~-~-#*)**C**(*#-~-~-

When my eyes opened, the ground seemed to be sliding around beneath me. I wasn't moving, but the road under me passed by as if it were moving on its own. I blinked and lifted my head.

A deep voice chuckled beside me, "The brat's awake."

I looked over to see a dark man with a mask holding my right arm. I gasped.

Another man holding my left arm shoved me down. "Keep Quiet!" he snapped.

I bit my lip and realized that the ground wasn't moving. I was being dragged. I searched my memory, trying to think of what had happened. I remembered the dark men grabbing me, and Ana shouting…

"Ana!" I screamed. My head shot up, and my feet dug into the ground. The men grunted and tried to pull me back down, but I fought them and looked desperately in every direction for my friend. "Ana! Ana!"

I whipped around to look behind me and caught a glimpse of Ana's limp body being dragged along behind me.

"Shut up!" the man on my left shouted. He grabbed my hair and jerked me to the ground.

"No!" I shrieked. "Let me go!" But the man on my right shoved a cloth in my face and my vision became blurry. "Ana." I whispered. Then the world went black.

-~-~-#*)**A**(*#-~-~-

Everything was blurry.

Blurry, colorful and…moving?

It sounded and looked strange but it was true. Colors and shapes, too warped to be identifiable, moved past me (or was I passing them?) in a steady pace that made me nauseous. The sounds were off too; everything sounded muffled, like hearing people talk while underwater. I couldn't understand what was being said, where I was, or where I was going.

_Ugh…_

I felt horrible too. From the neck down I felt light as air and numb; but my head felt like it was lead and filled with cotton, and the constant vertigo, due to the swirling colors, wasn't helping at all.

_Where am I? What's happening?_

I laid there, moving but not, on my back staring through half-lidded eyes as the world of colors, shapes and shadows passed by, completely confused and disoriented.

A voice, louder than the others, broke the barrier of my deliriousness, and spoke words that held no meaning to me but were said in a way that made my stomach clench. Suddenly the direction I had been moving in changed course and the speed had picked up considerably. The colors and shapes moved by even faster in a horrible blur.

A wave of anxiety rolled over me, as I became semi-aware of my situation. Somewhere, in the back of my mind, screamed with alarm and danger, that I was missing something very important.

_Something bad happened…_is _happening._

I tried to speak but my throat felt like sandpaper, dry and rough. The vertigo was getting worse and if I didn't find some release I was going to be seeing that olive, onion, and pepper pizza I had for dinner, again very soon. I closed my eyes in hopes that the inky blackness I found would ease my nausea, and prayed that this was all just a horrible dream, brought on by 12 pounds of junk food and bad movies.

…_movies…_

The screaming in the back of my mind got louder…

…_junk food…_

What was I forgetting?

…_the news…something bad happened…_

The fog in my mind began to clear as my memory started to come together, like pieces to a puzzle.

…_screaming…white lights…black…_

Sirens blared in my heads as everything started to come into focus.

…_Cleo…oh God._

At that moment everything came crashing down in my head as my mind replayed what had happened. My eyes snapped open of their own accord, and this time instead of being brought to sickness by moving colors I was welcomed to a dimly lit cell.

I was laying on my side, eyes wide and heart pounding, perfectly still. My breathing was shallow and uneven as I didn't dare make any sort of sudden movement. Fear wrapped its heavy and frigid arms around me as I laid paralyzed on the hard cement floor.

I stared at the small room that contained me. Something was…off.

The room itself was made up of cells on both sides, much like a dog kennel, complete with iron bars and a slot in the door for food to slide through. Overhead were dozens of flickering fluorescent lights that gave the room a pitiful glow. But that wasn't the problem.

Everything was…_cartoonized._

"Good god…" Using my hands to push myself up, I gaped at my bizarre surroundings. Denial and disbelief clouded my mind as I looked at the room that was made of solid shades, shadows, and…_outlines_. My stomach twisted violently and I suppressed the acidic feel of bile that had begun to creep up my throat. I raised my hand to push up my glasses, which had fallen to my nose as they tended to do, and felt my stomach turn to stone.

"Oh _god no…_"

My hand was a cartoon. Colored a solid peach/apricot color, it looked as though it had been drawn neatly with artistic precision. All creases and wrinkles on my hand that had once identified my knuckles were gone; my nails were all perfectly one length (as they never had been before). Trembling I turned my hand over and found that my fingerprints no longer existed. My fingers were all smooth as a blank slate.

"Oh…oh shit; oh fuck!" Hysteria flooded me as I ran my hands down my new body becoming more and more freaked out as I found that my entire body had changed. Gasping and choking, I wrapped my arms around myself and began to rock back and forth on my knees, trying desperately not to throw up. I felt my eyes burn with tears and shut them tightly, fighting for some sort of self control. Ironically in the back crevices of my mind, I was reminded of the movie _Pagemaster_ and the similarity of the situation.

_Oh god oh god oh god; I'm losing it, I'm losing it!_

My shoulders shook with barely contained sobs as I shook pathetically on the cement floor. All rational thought had abandoned me and I hugged myself tightly, completely terrified. A sudden shuffle of movement in the far corner reached my ears and I let out a shriek.

"Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you." A voice, masculine and shaky, came from the corner. My chest heaved as I gazed with wide eyes at a boy with shaggy brown hair, probably not that much older than me, shuffle to the edge of the cell he had been put in. He pressed himself to the chain link wall and gazed at me with a shaky smile.

"W-who are you? What's happening?" My voice trembled and I placed a hand on my chest to calm my racing heart. The boy's eyes crinkled with sympathy and replied, "I'm sorry…my name is Eddie. And as for what is happening, your guess is just as good as mine…" He paused and asked, "What is your name?"

I licked my chapped lips and whispered, "Ana…my name is Ana." Eddie smiled slightly at me before staring at me with a thoughtful look. It was then that I noticed that his eyes were mismatched, his right was blue and his left was brown. _How pretty…_ I thought randomly.

"Ana…do you notice something strange about this place? About the way we and everything else…looks?" Eddie asked softly. I let out a semi-hysterical chuckle, "You mean the way everything's a friggin cartoon?"

He nodded grimly, "So…you noticed it too. Well at least that means that I haven't gone insane just yet." He sighed and sat against the wall and closed his eyes. I looked down at my feet and swallowed thickly.

"Ah E-Eddie?" He raised his head in response. "Do you remember what happened before you were brought here?" I asked trying to keep my voice as even as possible.

Eddie sighed and grimaced, "Yeah. I was walking back to my apartment from one of my late night classes at my college and got jumped. I thought it would be alright, since I only lived 3 blocks away and I've been taking karate for 2 years now…lot of good it did me." He chuckled bitterly, and I finally noticed the way his clothes were covered in dirt and his lower lip was split. He glanced over at me through his long brown bangs, "How did you wind up here?"

I hugged myself tighter and sighed. "Well I was at my house and they broke in when me and my friend were having a sleep over-" I stopped realization and horror washing over me like ice cold water.

"Cleo! Oh god they have Cleo here too!" I jerked my head to face Eddie. "Eddie have you seen her? Long red hair, green eyes, around my age?" I looked at him desperately and felt my heart drop when he shook his head, his eyes filled with sadness, "No...I'm sorry; you're the only one I've seen here so far."

I felt my eyes sting with tears and I began rocking back and forth again. Where was Cleo? What were they doing to her? What were they going to do to us? Had anyone noticed that we were gone? Did my mother know? Did Cleo's? Eddie's? Were they showing our pictures on the news, just like Jenna Wills? Were the police looking for us? Would they find us before it was too late?

_Is Cleo even still alive?_

I inhaled sharply and shook my head, trying to rid my head of the morbid questions. I needed to calm down and clear my head. Cleo had to be alive; Cleo was strong.

So much stronger than I could ever hope to be.

"Hey…" I looked up at the sound of Eddie's voice and saw him giving me a reassuring grin, "…it'll be ok. I'm gonna get us both outta here and we'll go find your friend and get the hell outta Dodge and find our way home. I promise." Then he gave me the most benevolent and sincere smile and for just a single moment I honestly believed what he had said was possible. And for the first time since I got here, I smiled.

Then the moment was shattered the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps.

Eddie and I both jerked our heads in the direction of the sound and soon enough a group of men, all wearing black suits and glasses (déjà vu) came and stopped in front of our cells. They were cartoon-like as well. Then I noticed another figure, a woman, dressed in an absurdly colored lab coat: it was neon pink.

_What the hell…?_

The woman first approached the cage Eddie was held in and sneered at him. He glared viciously at her, "What the hell is going on? Who the hell do you think you are caging us up like animals? Answer me dammit!" Without breaking eye contact the woman spoke, "Take subject 100 and place him in the Mammal Sector; perhaps our researchers will have better luck with this one." Immediately the men swarmed in on Eddie, who had leapt to his feet and snarled. He swung his fists madly at the men as they surrounded them. He got in a few good hits before a man snuck up behind and removed a needle from his jacket.

I leapt to my feet in alarm, "Eddie, look out!" I screamed but watched in anguish as Eddie didn't move fast enough, and got the needle in his shoulder. "Eddie! Eddie!" I shrieked as I watched him sway and fall to his knees. His lifted his glazed eyes to me and mouthed my name before collapsing unconscious on the cement ground.

Tears slipped down my cheeks as I helplessly watched the men drag Eddie's lifeless form down the hall and out the door. My hand covered my mouth as I tried to muffle my sobs and hot pink came into my blurred vision. Looking up I saw the woman staring down at me with cold coal-black eyes that glinted with something that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I glared up at her with mixture of rage and intense fear.

"Why are you doing this? What have we ever done to you?" I rasped, trying to keep my cries to a minimum. A cold smile graced the woman's features as she bent down to my level (she was much taller than I) and looked down at me like a hawk examining mouse, "Why…I'm doing it for science. Development. Expanding our technology and resources. This is history in the making little girl and you should be honored to be a part of it." I stared at her in revulsion and horror and before I could stop myself, I cried, "_Honored_? You think I should be honored to be forced to be a guinea pig in your sick experiments? You're fucking crazy you lunat-" Her hand suddenly shot between the bars that separated us and grabbed a fistful of my shirt and yanked my body towards hers, banging me on the bars.

She leaned in close, her hot breath washing over my face, her livid black eyes burning with anger and traces of insanity, "Don't you _ever _call me crazy, you little whore. My research, my experiments are going to change the _world _and _I _will rule over that world like a _God_. And you and everyone else who ever doubted me and my potential is going to regret the day they even _thought _of disregarding me." She finished with a snarl. I stared at her completely shaken and terrified by the display of insanity she showed.

_Oh my god…she's completely __**nuts**__!_

She sneered at my quivering form, "Heh, just as I suspected. You do not even have the willpower or spine your companion has. Pathetic girl." I felt my stomach jolt into my lungs, "Cleo! Where is she, what have you done to her?" The woman tilted her head back and let out a mad giggle, "Oh she's alive for the moment. And we haven't done anything to her yet…but I would be more concerned about yourself girlie. You two, and that troublesome boy are going to be our newest test subjects for our gene-splicing research; and you're next."

My body went cold and all the air seemed to have been knocked out of me. Gene-splicing? They…were going to _mutate _us? I felt my stomach lurch violently as I tried not to get sick. This was all too much; the kidnapping, waking up a cartoon, and now experiments? Cold, stinging tears rolled down my cheeks, making them feel sticky. I was visibly shaking as I looked up at this madwoman…this…monster.

_This…this can't be happening…oh god this can't be happening!_

Croaking weakly I whispered, "You…you can't do this! We're _human beings_!" The response made me go even colder.

"Not for long." And suddenly I felt a sharp sting in my left shoulder. Dazed I turned my head to see a syringe, with the pump completely down, sticking out of my arm. My vision began to fade and the last thing I saw was two black eyes, glowing merrily with madness. Then it was dark.

-~-~-#*)**C**(*#-~-~-

I screamed as colors filled my eyelids and I sat strait up. I opened my eyes and grabbed my head. Blood rushed to my face and I wheezed. I was sitting on a cold, white room with no windows. Where was I? I turned to see full body mirror behind me. I stared into the mirror for a moment, trying to realize what had happened. As if the mirror had all of the answers.

My reflection was fuzzy. I rubbed her eyes again, and again, but still, my reflection seemed fuzzy. No, not fuzzy… just…_different. _It was as if I was outlined by a thin dark line and my skin was all the same peachy color. My clothes were a solid color as well, nothing was faded; there were only colors and shadows, like someone had taken ink and drawn me in this room.

I began to lift my hand to my face, when the mirror swung inwards and one of the dark men stepped into the room. He was outlined the same way as me, and he held the mirror open as if it were a door. I opened my mouth to speak, but the man flew behind me and pinned my arms back.

"Move!" he barked.

He jerked me to my feet, and pushed me out of the room. We stumbled into a long hallway lined with doors on either side of us. He shoved me to the right, and we passed by countless doors which, I realized, were actually thick slabs of one-way glass like an interrogation room with handles only on the outside. But there was no one inside of them. The rooms were all empty.

There were pictures hung above each room too; simple pictures of animals. Each door was labeled with a different animal picture. I looked behind me to see what my door had above it, but the man pushed me around a corner and to a large set of black double doors with a gigantic, hot pink "B" Stamped across them.

I puzzled over the out-of-place letter while the man pressed a button on the wall with his elbow. The doors made a hissing sound as if they were releasing a lot of pressure and a thick cloud of steam filled the hallway as they opened. I coughed, and the man steered me through the steam and into a large laboratory. I heard the sound of beakers clinking and men with white lab coats bent over tables and counters, engaged in their work. The place smelled of formaldehyde and I wrinkled my nose in disgust.

A tall, thin woman with jet black hair and a hot pink lab coat stepped through the steam, removing a pair of hot pink goggles to reveal the coldest set of black eyes I had ever seen.

"Doctor B, I have brought patient number 99 as requested." The man said, releasing me, and shoving me to her knees.

I was too frightened to move. Doctor B stared down at me with an evil grin and her eyes pierced into mine. A look that sent ripples down my spine. She stood in front of me and glared down like a snake, examining its prey.

"So you're the little trouble maker," She hissed. She knelt down so that her head was level with mine. "I am told that you fight off drugs quickly and that you are stubborn."

The man smirked.

I glared back at Doctor B and said through clenched teeth, "Where. Is. Ana?"

Doctor B raised her hand and slapped me across the face. "You need to learn how to be quiet," she hissed. Then with a smile added: "Or I might have to punish your little friend. You wouldn't want that, would you?" My eyes watered in frustration. What were they going to do with Ana?

Doctor B grabbed my chin and jerked my head back. Her black snake eyes pierced mine even deeper. Her cold breath made goose bumps on my neck as she pulled me closer to her and whispered, "You're going to be fun to break."

I shivered...

She let go of my face and turned to leave. "Take her back and don't feed her anything, I need her to be weak." She said to the man and disappeared back into the steam.

The man pinned my arms again, leading me through the steam and out of the laboratory. We shuffled through the hallways back towards them little white room.

My breathing got heavy and I started to panic. I looked around for a way to escape but there were only the doors with their animal pictures. Each animal seemed to stare down at me with the same piercing eyes as Doctor B's. We passed by a yellow bird, a purple fish, and a blue frog, then we stopped. We were back at the room I had woken up in with its see-through door still wide open. Above it hung a picture of a red salamander. Its red glare reflected down on me and covered my face like blood. My whole body shook and my mind began to scream: _I HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!_

-~-~-#*)**A**(*#-~-~-

When I woke, I was surrounded by bright blinding lights. The glare stung my eyes and I shut them again moaning. Lying still for a moment I noticed I was laying on a cold hard surface; and when I tried to shift, I found that I could barely move an inch. Opening my eyes again I squinted past the glow of the lights and found that my limbs and torso were bound to a metal table with leather straps. I also noticed something else.

I was completely naked.

The cold air, which reeked of chemicals and antiseptic, made my skin break out into goose bumps. I struggled lethargically, my movements slowed by the drug that was still in my system, and wept as I tried in vain to free myself. A figure appeared above me suddenly, blocking out some of the blinding lights. More figures came into view, until they all had surrounded me. They all were wearing surgical masks and scrubs and stared down at me like I was an object. Like I was a specimen.

"_Have all the preparations been made?" _

The sudden voice, which echoed from the room, startled me, and I looked to my right, past the doctors and saw the woman in the pink lab coat watching us through an observation window. One of the figures spoke up, "Yes Doctor B."

Doctor B grinned and spoke into the microphone that had been placed in the observation room, _"Very good. Now then, begin the procedure for test subject 101."_ And with that, a doctor approached me with a large syringe, with had been filled with a luminescent blue substance. I began to cry and pleaded weakly, "No, please. Please stop, oh god please. Please I want to go home, someone help me!" The doctors ignored my cries and cleaned a spot near the center of my chest with an alcohol soaked cotton ball, and realized that they were aiming for my heart.

I shut my eyes so I wouldn't see them inject me with whatever they had in that syringe. I jolted when I felt the sharp sting of the needle and gasped as I felt it plunge deep into my chest. Then a horrible burning formed in my chest. I choked as my lungs seemed to shrivel from lack of air as the burning rapidly spread throughout my entire body. I opened my mouth to scream but only sharp gasps and gurgles came out.

_It burns! Oh god it burns!_

It felt like my body was being burned from the inside out, with horrible acid fire. I felt my internal organs jerk and twist sharply and my muscles contracted into painful spasms. Agony ripped and tore through my being. I could feel my body, my entire internal and external structures _shifting _and _morphing _into _something_…something that wasn't human.

_Oh please God just let me die! Just make it stop!_

The pain wasn't horrible; it was unbearable. I could barely move as I felt myself be torn apart from the inside out. I wished I had never been born, that someone would come and please put me out of my misery. Suddenly my wish for relief was granted, as I felt myself sink suddenly into darkness and my mind retreated to the sanctuary that was unconsciousness.

-~-~-#*)**A**(*#-~-~-

_Am I dead?_

It was all very quiet; wherever I was. The only sound I could hear was my own shallow shaky breaths and the quiet thumping of my heart. My eyes were closed shut and I decided to keep it that way. I was lying on my side and when I shifted ever so slightly my entire body screamed in achy protest, and I let out a soft moan of pain.

_No…I'm alive. You don't feel pain when you're dead._

I just laid there for a while, breathing shallowly, trying not to move. I stayed like that for about 20 minutes before I decided to open my eyes and face whatever I would see. Slowly I cracked open one eye, shortly followed by the other.

White. It was all white; white floor, white ceiling, and white walls with nothing on them—wait; one of them had a mirror. I tilted my head and gazed at it. It was big enough to be a door; probably a two-sided mirror, and on the other side were probably doctors and that crazy woman, Doctor B, analyzing me like I was some kind of animal. I grimaced and glanced down towards my reflection and froze. My reflection; it was still cartoon-like, but something was different.

Something was wrong.

Anxiety and fear made me forget my body's tender condition, and I pushed myself up quickly and immediately fell back onto the floor, biting my lip till it bled trying to keep in a scream. Tears distorted my vision, and I sniffled trying not to burst into sobs. Shakily I raised a hand to wipe my eyes but froze when my hand came into view.

I was missing a finger.

I stared in horrified silence as I examined my disfigured appendage. I now only had four fingers, and a quick look at my other hand showed that I was missing a digit on that one too. Shaking violently I glanced towards my feet and found that they too now only had four toes on each foot. I was hyperventilating now and I slowly pushed myself up again, ignoring my body's cries of protest and crawled over to the mirror on the wall. Taking a deep breath I slowly raised my head and gazed at myself. My eyes widened at the sight that greeted me.

_Oh my god…oh my god._

I was hideous. My ears had shrunk considerably and were barely visible on the sides of my head, my mouth was much wider than it had originally been, and my face had formed what looked like the beginning of a snout. And, oh lord, my _skin_. It looked pale _blue_!

I felt hysteria completely take over me and this time I could not keep my sickness down; I dry-retched until globs of burning yellow bile plopped onto the floor, which showed I hadn't eaten in a while. I sobbed and gagged and wished that it was just a dream; a horrible nightmare that I would wake up at any moment and I would be greeted by my mother's smiling face and never have to worry about doctors or needles ever again.

Unfortunately the aches in my body and the stench of my sickness on the floor told me that it wasn't a dream. It was real; this entire thing was _real_. And right now, I was in terrible danger. I curled into a ball on the floor and let out gasping sobs and just wished I was home in my mother's arms, smelling her sweet perfume and feeling her motherly warmth. I wanted to see my sister again, and play _Mario _on the Wii station again and let her win just because she loved it so much. I wanted to see my friends again, hang out like we used too, and play games and sing terrible karaoke like Cleo and I used to…

"…Cleo." Had this happened to Cleo as well? Was she also mutated into a monster and tortured like I was? Probably. And this depressed me even more. Self-pity and shame drowned me as I asked myself mentally: Why us? Why did this happen? What had we done to deserve this? I looked up at the ceiling and wondered if I would receive an answer. I didn't.

My pity party was suddenly interrupted a hissing sound, like compressed air was being released, and saw the mirror door swing inwards and in stepped two men dressed in scrubs. I was too terrified to move as they advanced on me. I looked into their soulless eyes and knew that the pain was not yet over, and that it was only just beginning.

Oh how right I was.

-~-~-#*)**C**(*#-~-~-

If you have never been tortured, then you do not know how literally it destroys you. The pain you feel in your body is nothing compared to the agony of your mind being ripped apart piece by piece. Every time they would unstrap me from that cold metal table and drag me back to my cell, I could feel a part of my humanity dying.

My chest would ache from the large needle they would stab me with, and I could still feel the thick fluids from the injection coursing through my veins. Doctor B had set aside a "special" pinkish-red fluid to fill me with, and every time I closed my eyes all I could see was red.

The mirror was torture in itself. All I had to do was glance at my reflection and see that day by day I was becoming less of myself and more like the salamander hanging above my door. I had a tail now, I'm not sure how long it took to grow, but the pain of growing something I didn't already have was worse than losing my fingers and toes. I only had four fingers now, on each hand, and four toes on each foot. When and how they had removed them, I wasn't sure. I had been pumped with so many drugs, that my life (or rather the times that I was awake) passed by in a haze. I remember feeling the tug of being dragged from one place to the next, the burn of the needle, the sting of its heavy fluid and the occasional blurry pink blob that I assumed was Doctor B. Sometimes, I would hear her hissing in my ear just before the sting of the needle, and her icy laugh whenever I let out a scream of pain.

When I was alone and conscious in my little room, I would stare into the mirror and run my fingers over my red face and the little holes in my head where my ears once were. I would braid the even redder hair on my head, and tell myself stories about Ana and me escaping from this cold, timeless hell. Sometimes, when the pain was just too much, I would pretend that she had already escaped and was too far away to ever get hurt again. And just before I would slip into my dark unconscious mind, I would think: _And maybe she's even sending help. Some sort of heroic rescue party to come and save me before I die._

-~-~-#*)**A**(*#-~-~-

_**Sometime later…**_

I don't know how long I have been here, but it feels like years. I know in reality it's probably only been a couple weeks but there's no way to know for sure. There are no clocks or calendars that I can see, and I don't think the…people (if I can even call them that) here would tell me if I asked. The days here have begun a horrid cycle that never seems to end: I am drugged half of the time I am here, only brought out of my cell to take me to the lab, where they strap me down and inject me again and again with that horrid glowing blue substance. Then the agony begins again. Each time it is more painful than the last, and I can feel myself becoming less human and more…I don't even know. I'm not sure if I want to know.

Eventually the torture is too much and I thankfully fall into unconsciousness. Each time I wake up it is different; some days I wake and feel as though I have been asleep for days, others it feels like I only closed my eyes for a moment and then I am back into this horrid impossible reality. And each time I wake up my body is more and more deformed from the last time.

I try desperately not to look into the mirror-door when I do wake up, knowing that it would only cause me more torture but I cannot help it. It's like watching a car accident, you want to look away, to close your eyes and shut it out, but you can't. Over time, I've watched my human characteristics slowly fade away and are slowly replaced by something completely alien.

Over time, my skin had turned a rich cerulean blue and was also covered in black rings and spots that randomly appeared all over my body, however, my arms and legs were a darker shade of blue than the rest of me. My skin was also much smoother than it had ever been in my life and all the hair on my body, save for the hair on my head, was gone. My ears are gone, but somehow I can still hear quite well. My glasses have also long disappeared but somehow, when I am not hindered by drugs, I can see with crystal clarity. My fingers and toes look as though someone had dipped them in black finger paint and my breasts were also colored completely black. And lastly my face…oh how I hated my new face. My nose had melted away and now I had a sort of snout that made me look very animal-like; my mouth was wide and all my canines had turned angular and sharp. I have lost a considerable amount of weight, I can actually count most of my ribs; but I have not yet died of starvation. I suspect they are giving me nutrients through an IV drip. My messy, short black hair and dull grey eyes were all I had left of what I was when I was human. Everything else is alien.

It is during these times, after I have awoken and seen my changed self that are the worst. I feel my mentality crack and emotions of despair and grief take over me completely. I curl into a ball in the farthest corner from the mirror and fall even deeper into a never-ending depression as I try to keep a grasp on my wavering sanity. I cry, and pray, and scream but none of these things do any good. I call out to God and ask Him why did happen, why me? I have not yet been answered.

Sometimes I try to bury myself into my memories, ones that made me happy and feel loved: my first day of kindergarten, going to the museum, eating ice cream with my mother, holding my baby sister for the first time, Christmases, birthdays, anything to help me forget. And for a short while; it works. I lose myself wholeheartedly in these precious moments, reliving the happiness and love I felt there; it made me feel closer to home. I also do it because I feel as though I will never get to experience them again.

But my moments of peace are usually brief. Before I know it, the lab coats (as I have taken to calling them) barge into my room and drag me back down the hall where I'll be violated even further, and the whole thing starts all over again.

This brings me to where I am now. As of the moment I am curled up in my corner, trembling and wondering how long it will be until the lab coats come back; another horrible thing about this place: the waiting. The constant paranoia and fear of how soon they will come for me and how long the pain will last this time, and if it will finally be enough to kill me. This thought both relieves and completely terrifies me.

Randomly I remember Cleo, and wonder if she too, has been changed like I have. I wonder if she is breaking too in this hell hole. I wonder if she thinks about home and our friends like I do. I wonder if she thinks about me as well. I wonder if she is still alive.

This thought depresses me greatly and I decide to try praying one more time. I looked up at the ceiling (I hate the color white now) and close my eyes.

_Please God. Please let Cleo be alive. Please help us. Please send someone, __**anyone**__ to help us escape this hell. Please…please help us…_

Opening my eyes, I stare at the ceiling, completely exhausted. I am so tired, too tired to even cry at this point, something of which I had done a lot here. My body aches and my mind is on the verge of collapsing. Vaguely I wonder if I am dying.

**SCREEEEEEEEEEEEECHHH! SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECHHHH!**

I nearly jump out my skin at the burst of sound. The silence that had been living in this placed was killed by the shrill cry of sirens, that seemed to be sounding all over the place. I covered the spots where my ears had been trying to block out the shrillness of the alarms. What was going on?

"_**INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!"**_


	3. Drag Me Outta Hell

**Bunnie: Here it is! Your second dose of absolute sexiness!**

**Eskimo: Yup! And don't worry the TMNT will show up in the next chapter!  
Bunnie: Then it gets REALLY sexy~ **

**Eskimo: Again, we don't anything so don't sue! We're poor.**

-~-~-#*)**C**(*#-~-~-

I screamed and covered my ear-holes. _A noise? _I thought. _There's never any noise in my cell!_ And it wasn't just any noise, it was a voice. A loud, screeching voice that chanted "**Intruder Alert**" over and over again. An alarm was backing the voice with a pulsing beat that made my head throb. My hazy world began to grow a little clearer with each pulse of the alarm, and just as I was beginning to grasp what was going on, my mirror swung inwards.

It was one of the men in lab coats. He rushed behind me, pinned my arms as per usual, and jerked me to my feet. "Move!" he barked in a shaky voice.

Something was different. He pushed me out of my cell and we began to march down the hallway. He seemed a little…flustered? _Is… he…scared?_ The thought brought a grin to my lips. Suddenly, my clear world became even clearer and I dug my heels into the ground.

The lab coat ran into the back of me and in a startled voice he shouted, "Move!"

I shook my head, still smiling, and craned my neck to face him. "No. I whispered. "I've had enough."

He glared and let go of me with one hand to reach into his pocket. This was my chance. I jerked one of my arms from his grasp and swiped the needle he had whipped from his pocket and drove it deep into his neck. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he slid limply to the ground.

"Taste your own drugs asshole!" I cackled madly. I turned and raced back toward my cell. I had run over this plan so many times that I had it down to a science and the first step was checking for other survivors, mainly Ana. In almost all of my little fantasies, she had already escaped, but I had to make sure.

In seconds, I was back at my door. Door number 99 as everyone called it. _Well that was fast,_ a little voice said in the back of my head but I ignored it. I hadn't run in a very, very long time so of course running would seem fast now. I took a deep breath.

_Please, let her be ok_.

One foot in front of the other I walked one door to my left, door number 100. I glanced through the one-way glass.

Empty.

I closed my eyes and walked toward door 101. _Please, please let her be ok._

I opened my eyes and gasped. Through the glass, I could see a little blue figure huddled in the corner of the cell rocking back and forth.

I remembered when I had spent the night at Ana's house once, and her parents were fighting, she had curled up and rocked like that. Once, when she woke up from a bad dream she curled up and rocked like that. The first time a boy ever picked on her, (I kicked his ass of course) she curled up and rocked like that. There was no doubt in my mind that the little blue creature curled up and rocking in the corner was my best friend.

I choked back tears and tried the door handle. It was unlocked of course, because there was no lock. I stared at the handle and smiled. This part of my plan had to be exactly like I had envisioned it. I took a deep breath, threw the door open, and shouted: "Honey! I'm home!"

-~-~-#*)**A**(*#-~-~-

I gritted my teeth as I tried in vain to block out the shrill noise of the alarms. They had been going off for about 15 minutes now and it had gotten old 14 minutes ago. I rested my forehead on my knees and let out a miserable moan. I was beginning to miss the dead quiet that had become normal in this hell hole.

Then, all of the sudden, the mirror swung open violently. I jolted and looked up in terror as I waited for the lab coats to march in as they always did.

"Honey! I'm home!"

My eyes nearly fell out of my head as a strange red creature stepped into my cell, locking its eyes on my form almost immediately. A look of relief came onto its face and it smiled at me, "Oh thank God! I finally found you!" it cried, its voice sounding feminine and strangely familiar. I cried out as it started to come toward me, "N-no! Stay away! Please…Please don't hurt me!" I cried and formed an X with my arms trying to bar myself away from the creature.

A pained and tortured look immediately replaced its smile and it looked at me with watery liquid eyes. "Ana." I looked up sharply at the sound of my name, something I haven't heard in weeks, and saw a sad smile form on the thing's face, "Ana…it's _me_. It's _Cleo_." I gaped at the red creature.

"C-Cleo? But how…" I then noticed the long strands of red hair, which were dirty and looked as though they hadn't been brushed in weeks, and I looked at its face and saw the large dark green eyes that held unshed tears. I knew those eyes anywhere.

"Cleo!" I jumped up and collided into my best friend, whom I hadn't seen in what felt like eons, and almost knocked her over. I wrapped my arms tightly around her, afraid that if I let up for even a second she would disappear, and I would be alone again. Intense relief and happiness flooded me when I felt Cleo's arms wrap around me as well and squeezed me close to her changed frame. We both held each other, sobbing in relief and sorrow, for each other and for ourselves.

"Oh god Cleo, I was so scared! I thought you had…" I couldn't even finish the sentence and was overcome with emotion as I sobbed harder. Cleo's shoulders shook with her own repressed sobs and whispered hoarsely, "I know…I had thought that you too had…" She shook her head and shuddered. We pulled away from each other, hesitantly so, and for the first time I got a good look at how Cleo had been changed.

I mean I _really _looked.

Cleo's hair and eyes, like mine, were the only recognizable traits I could find; everything else about her was different. Her skin was smooth like mine, but was colored a deep scarlet red, with small black spots that freckled her entire frame. Her fingers and toes had been colored black like mine, and so had her breasts. I noticed that her torso and hands were a different color of red than the rest of her body, a shade that closely bordered on magenta. Two large black spots, much larger than the ones on the rest of her, had formed on her cheeks giving a kind of doll like look-

_Oh good lord is that a __**tail**__?_

Indeed it was a tail. It started at the base of her spine and dragged on the floor, thick with what I assumed was muscle. It was colored scarlet like the rest of her with black spots and the tip was black as well. I gaped at the radical changes my friend had gone through, and looked up to see that she had been observing my changes as well. Our eyes met and they watered with tears.

"Oh…oh Cleo. What did they _do _to us?" I whispered. She shook her head and murmured, "I don't know Ana…I-I just…_don't know_." I hugged and myself and trembled, shaking my head. _This can't be real, _I thought, _this can't be happening to us. _But it was. And it sucked. Big time.

I felt Cleo place her hand on my shoulder and she opened her mouth to say something-

"Quick! The intruders are on the north side of the building! Get as many troops you can out there and exterminate them!" A voice shouted and we heard a dozen pairs of feet rush past my cell. We both froze and waited to see if they would notice us. Once we were sure that they had passed us, we both released the breaths we had been holding. That had been close.

Cleo turned to me with a serious look, "Ana we need to get out of here _now_. While they're all distracted on the north side of the building." I looked at her trembling. There were no doubt lab coats running all over the building, trying to deal with the 'intruders'. But Cleo was right, now was the only time we could escape, and if we wasted it we probably would never get another chance again. I nodded shakily at her and followed her out of my cell.

Once we were out, I looked back at the door and saw a picture. It was a blue frog. And underneath it were the numbers **101**.

_I never noticed before…_

Yellow lights were flashing in random locations on the ceiling, but thankfully the siren had been shut off, although I could hear many doctors and lab coats running and yelling all over the place. I squeezed Cleo's hand tightly and followed her closely. We tried to stick to the darkest parts of the hallways, ducking behind random equipment and carts that had been left out each time a person came running down the corridor. We came to a fork in the hall and pressed ourselves closely to the wall. Cleo cautiously peered around the corner, checking if the coast was clear. I was shaking all over and tired to keep my fear in check. Breathing deeply I tried to find a level of calm. Then out of the corner of my eye I spotted something. A sign.

_To Testing and Experimental Labs ___

No. Anywhere but there. I'd rather die than go back there. I _would _die if I went there again. My shaking worsened. I felt bile creep up my throat as horrid images flashed in my mind and played over and over again like a never-ending horror film.

_Screaming. Burning agony._

No.

_Organs shifting, muscles ripping and being repaired._

Stop.

_Bones cracking and bending. Blood dribbling between my teeth._

Please!

_Sharp needles, dark looming figure with soulless eyes. They hurt me._

Stop! Just stop! Please, oh god please!

_Over and over and over and over and ov-_

"Ana!" a voice hissed in my ear. I jumped and turned to face Cleo. She gazed at me with an unusual look on her face. She glanced at the sign I had seen. A dark and pained look showed itself on her face that told me that she knew what I had been thinking. Exactly. She squeezed my hand in an attempt to comfort me.

"The hall's clear. Let's go." And with that we rushed as quietly as we could down the corridor Cleo had chosen, and far away from that room. And we didn't dare look back.

We were leaving this place. And, by God, we were never coming back. Ever.

…

Unfortunately, due to our weakened states, Cleo and I had gotten slightly winded, even with the adrenaline coursing through our veins, though I had noticed that Cleo had gotten much faster than she used to be. I was having trouble keeping up with her, and a few times she nearly ended up dragging me while she ran.

Panting, I leaned on the wall for support, bending over at my knees as I tried to regain my breath. Cleo was also breathing heavily but she pulled on my arm and said, "Come on. We need to keep moving, they'll notice that we're missing soon." I opened my mouth to protest but suddenly two cold hands had roughly grabbed my forearms in a painful grip and I was yanked away from Cleo.

"You two! How did you get out? Hey somebody get over here, two subjects have escaped from their cells!" The man restraining me yelled and I began to struggle viciously. Cleo rushed to me and tried to pry him off. "Let her _go_ you _bastard_!" she screamed.

I pinched my eyes shut, trying desperately to break the man's hold on my arms. His large hands had me in a painful vice grip and his nails dug into my flesh. I began to panic and my heart began beating faster and louder.

_Let go let go let go!_

Somewhere, deep inside me, a heavy dark fear began to grow. My body suddenly became unbearably hot and my breathing became ragged. The fear spread through my body and began breaking through my skin. An almost animal-like ferocity overcame me, raw and powerful. It was the need for survival.

_LET GO!_

"Over here! Get somebody over here n-_gurk!_" The man suddenly choked in the middle of his sentence. Strangle gurgles and choking sounds came from his throat as his eyes bugged out. He released his grip and I backed away quickly, gaping at this sudden random change. Cleo had stepped away from him as well, staring in horrified fascination. His hands grasped at his chest as he struggled to breathe, his wide eyes swiveling around madly. He fell to his knees and began shaking violently, almost as if he were having a seizure. Then, all of sudden, he fell to ground face first. He didn't get back up.

_Oh my god…_

I stared, horrified, at the body lying on the floor. I turned to Cleo in disbelief, "Cleo… what…what the hell just happened? D-did he just…?" I hugged myself tightly and tried to calm my racing heart. Cleo shook her head and faced me, "I-I don't know, he just-" She stopped suddenly and a look of horror and revulsion came onto her face.

"Ana! Oh-oh god, y-your _skin_! What…what _is _that?" Completely confused I looked down at myself and gasped. All over my skin was a coat of slime that gave off a liquid-like sheen in the artificial lights of the hallway. Utterly appalled, I slowly uncrossed my arms with a sense of foreboding: a thin line of clear slime stretched from my hand to the shoulder it had been holding.

"Oh...oh…" I felt my legs turn to jell-o and I collapsed on my knees. Holding myself up on my hands I gagged and retched. I knelt motionless, my mind was numb from the shock, and there seemed to be a faint roaring in my ears.

_What did they DO to me?_

Red swarmed into my view, and I heard Cleo's voice saying something but I couldn't make it out. Everything was muted and Cleo's voice sounded as though she was speaking from far away, "...et out of here now Ana! Right now! There are more people coming and they'll catch us if we don't move!" I looked up at Cleo's face, dazed. "Cleo," I croaked, "I gotta get this offa me."

"Ana we don't have time, we need-" I cut her off abruptly, "Cleo please! Please! I-I gotta get this off of me, it's-it's _all over me_!" I finished with a semi-hysterical scream. Cleo's face twisted into one of uncertainty and sympathy. Chewing her bottom lip, she finally nodded, "Ok…ok. But we have to be fast."

I nodded weakly and pushed myself up. Cleo had begun to reach out her hand to help me, but thought better of it and let me pull myself up. I couldn't blame her though; I had just killed a guy just by having him touch me. The thought made me want to vomit.

_I just killed somebody…_

"Does it hurt?" Cleo's asked softly. I shook my head and whispered, "No…I can't even feel it." We began sneaking down the hallways again, looking for a washroom or something with a sink. I soon began to miss Cleo's hand holding mine but I didn't dare touch her.

After carefully sneaking around for about 5 minutes we soon came into what looked like an empty lab room. We snuck in quietly and I dashed over to the nearest sink while Cleo turned her back and watched the door. I grabbed a handful of paper towels and soaked them under the faucet. I scrubbed myself until my skin was clean and raw, sobbing quietly as I did so. I made sure to get every inch of skin on my form and quickly tossed the towels into the wastebasket.

"Ana are you almost d-" Cleo shrieked suddenly, and I whipped around thinking that we had been caught but saw her staring horrified at something lying prone on a metal table near the center of the room. I rushed over to where she was standing, "Cleo! What…" and gasped as I saw exactly what it was on that table.

It was a corpse.

"Oh-oh my g…" Cleo turned abruptly and began to retch violently and I heard the sound of sickness being deposited on the floor. In a mixture of horrified awe and morbid curiosity, I slowly walked over to the table where it laid. Cleo gasped sharply, "Ana don't…!" but I ignored her plea and walked until I was right next to the body, and a thick wave of stench welcomed me. I stared down at it in morose fascination.

It was a mutant…like us. But it was only half-formed. Thin orange fur with black stripes (apparently a tiger mutant) covered the body and I could see the beginnings of a tail sticking out from beneath its torso. Claws that were sharp and cracked tipped its finger and toes, and bulging ugly muscles made up its arms and legs. Its face was the worst. Its face and lips had begun to form a muzzle of sorts, and its teeth were long yellow fangs. Long bent whiskers sprung from its cheeks. Its eyes were still open, sunken and glazed with death, and each one was colored differently. One was blue and the other was brown.

The breath in my lungs suddenly vanished.

_Oh._

My hands trembled.

_Oh no._

I felt my stomach turn to stone and fall to my ankles.

_No no no no no no no._

I felt Cleo's hand on my shoulder, "Ana wh-"

"It's Eddie." I interrupted her, unable to look away, unable to close my eyes, unable to unsee this horrible image.

_Oh __**damn it**__, Eddie. I'm so __**sorry**__._

"We woke up in the same room. When we first got here. He…he was one of us." My voice cracked at the end of the sentence. My hands covered my mouth in a pathetic attempt to contain my sobs. Tearing my gaze away from Eddie's body I looked up and saw that the room was actually much larger than we had originally thought. And it wasn't empty either.

I began hyperventilating. Cleo turned me to face her, looking very concerned, and opened her mouth to ask me what was wrong but stopped when she looked over my shoulder; going still as stone.

"Good God…"

In the dim lighting of the room, there were more tables. And large black bags, some open some closed, were laid on top. Some were even stacked on top one another. Like gruesome, black towers, made with the dead. Good lord, there were _dozens _of them.

We weren't in a lab.

_They're dead. _

We were in a morgue.

_They're all dead._

And it was then I knew that the police back home would never find the missing people.

_Dead._

Because we had found them first.

_Dead._

We had found Eddie, Jenna Wills, and everyone else who had disappeared without a trace.

_Dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, __**dead.**_

And now we were the only ones left.

-~-~-#*)**C**(*#-~-~-

My first reaction was to run. The black bags all around us were like something out of a horror film. There were so many packed together that it was obvious whoever put them there had just tossed them in a way that was most convenient for space. There was still enough space in the room to fit at least two dozen other bodies, and I knew that they wouldn't think twice about tossing Ana and I in here if they caught us now. We had to run and fast.

I tightened my grip around Ana's shoulders and pulled her into a hug. She screamed into my chest and I held back tears of my own. "Be strong Ana, we have to get out of here or we'll end up like them," I whispered. She shook her head and pulled out of my hug. I looked her in the eyes for the first time, and saw that they were different then I had remembered. Through the glaze and the blood shot, her pupils were large and wild, they quivered from side to side and fear seemed to swim in her irises. What had they done to my best friend? Why did they have to torture us like this? And with someone as sweet and innocent as Ana, it just wasn't fair.

I felt anger seep into my veins. A rage that made my pulse pound in my head and I took Ana by the hand. "C'mon we're getting the hell outta here" I said in a tone that made Ana snap out of whatever trance she was in. We walked to the door and paused while I looked around the corner. It was surprisingly empty. What had the guards said before? Something about intruders in the north? Where were we? We sure as hell weren't intruders, but I didn't want to get caught again just because of some stupid _intruders _running around.

I led Ana out of the room and into the hallway promising myself not to look back and not to lead us past that _storage compartment_ ever again. I turned right and peaked around the corner. Empty. This was too easy and it was making me paranoid. I turned right, ran with Ana to the end of the hallway, peeked around the corner and turned left. Ran, peeked, and turned right. Ran, peeked, and turned left. The place was so empty that it was driving me mad. I was scared that around the next corner we would find a giant mass of white coats all huddled together, ready to pounce on us and stab us with their syringes. I _was not _going to be drugged again.

Eventually I turned down a hall that led Ana and I to a dead end. Well, almost dead. A small door was at the end of the hall with a red neon sign above it.

**Exit**

We were saved. I closed my eyes and prayed that this really was the way out of this hell hole and not some sick joke. Ana tightened her grip on my hand and I opened my eyes. With a deep breath, I pushed the door open and pulled Ana out into the blinding light. A light brighter than the florescent bulbs that flickered in our cells, a light I hadn't seen in what felt like an eternity. Its warm rays swallowed me whole, and brought tears to my eyes.

"The sun," Ana whispered.

"Yeah," I choked. "The sun." We were finally free.


	4. Search And Rescue

**Eskimo: Hello all!**

**Bunnie: Hi everybody!**

**Eskimo: Well here's the third chapter, and we finally get to see the turtles!**

**Bunnie: Woot!**

**Eskimo: And THANK YOU SO MUCH to the two people who reviewed our last chapter; we really appreciate it!**

**Bunnie: Which brings us to the boo-boo we made last time: we forgot to ask you to review! Silly us XD**

**Eskimo: But yes, PLEASE review; it makes us write faster :D**

**Bunnie: We don't own TMNT but we will someday…oh we will –evil laughter-**

**Eskimo: -edges away slowly- O.o;**

-!*$*!-

They say that New York is the city that never sleeps. Well, if that is the case, then Manhattan is the city that rarely sleeps; and tonight it seemed that any kind of rest was a far off fantasy.

Even at the ungodly hour of 2 a.m. the city refused to slumber. Horns blared and curses of road rage rang clearly through the smoggy night air. People yelled, laughed, and sang the night away only to remember they had to be in the office by six and decided to get a decent 4 hour nap before trudging to their jobs. And when these people left, 2 more night owls would take their place and began partying the last dying hours of night away.

Luckily these people were so engrossed in their own doings that nobody saw the six figures leaping from one roof to another. The figures leapt and landed with grace that had been acquired with years of training, and they stealthily moved to the edge of a tall building, careful to stay within the shadows.

"Have you locked onto the signal yet?" A voice, soft but held an air of authority within it, asked.

One of the figures seemed to be messing with a small gadget device, no bigger than the palm of his hand, and replied, "Almost. Just give me a few seconds." Another figure snorted, "Yeah, dat's whatcha said _four _hours ago, Brainiac. It's almost dawn and we _still _haven't found da damn place." The second figure paused in his doings to glare at the third figure, "I'm going as fast as I can Raph, but the signal keeps fading in and out, so it's hard to get a full lock on it."

Raph snorted again, "Well, whatevah. All I know is that we've been out here since da sun went down, and we haven't found shit." The first figure, shifted and glared at his brother, "Raph get off Don's back; this sort of thing takes _time_, you know." Why couldn't he just calm down? They all were tired and getting irritated.

Raph's eyes narrowed and seemed to be getting ready to start an argument, but the soft sound of someone clearing their throat stopped him. He glanced over to the side and met the eyes of the young female gecko mutant, her honey-colored eyes telling him that right now was _not_ the time for a brother bitch fight. Save it for later. Way later.

Raph got the message and with great reluctance agreed to end it, and muttered, "Whatevah Leo." And with that stomped over to the edge of the building and glared out to the city. She did that to him sometimes, being able to tell him everything that was on her mind with just a look. Damn.

An orange-clad turtle gave a low whistle, "Daaang. Mona Lisa the Raph Tamer." and made an impression of a whip being cracked. Raph glared at his baby brother and gave a low growl. Mikey grinned goofily at his brother's reaction and seemed to be getting ready to sling another jab at Raph's expense but was stopped short by a sharp smack to the head.

"Owie!" Mikey pouted and turned to the gecko-girl who had hit him, "Dude, picking on the funny guy: not cool." Mona Lisa gave him a smirk, "Funny guy? I always thought you were the funny-looking guy." And with that she sauntered over to where the red-clad turtle was standing.

"Dude…ouch."

The final figure stepped out from the shadows, a female turtle with a light blue bandana with the tails braided, and spoke softly with an Asian accent, "Friends, please do not bicker. We are all weary and aggravated. Let us find these 'signals' and discover the cause." The band of mutants looked at each other tiredly and agreed. Fighting would get them nowhere fast. Mei Pieh Chi, rather Venus as she was called by the others, smiled at her victory of temporary peace and looked towards the bright city lights, waiting patiently for Don to find the signal.

At this point people are probably wondering why our favorite turtles (and gecko) are out here in the middle of the night, running around on what seems like a wild goose chase. Well, it started a couple months back, when a strange signal had suddenly appeared out of nowhere but disappeared almost immediately. Don had been the one who had found it and he had been surprised by it, but since it had been so small and sudden, he dismissed it as some sort of interference. But only a week later another signal, identical to the one from before, had made itself known. This one had been a bit stronger than the last but it had also been brief. Again, Don dismissed it.

However, when six more signals showed themselves over the next 3 weeks, Don figured it was highly unlikely that this was a mere coincidence. Especially since each signal was more powerful than the last. So, being the curious, intelligent mind he was, tried to identify the signals and find their source. However this was rather difficult to do because the signals would appear randomly and they last for very short brief moments, and before he could get a lock or trace on them, they were gone. It was a rather frustrating process.

It went like this for a few more weeks, but with the help of his human friend April and their crocodile comrade Leatherhead, he had been able to finally get a brief lock on one signal, before it completely disappeared. It wasn't enough to determine where they were coming from, but they could at least analyze it. The three scientists worked together trying to make heads and tails of the signal but could find nothing. It was truly an enigma.

It wasn't until over a month later since they had gotten the signal, that Don realized something. These signals were scarily similar to those when trying to use extremely advanced technology…technology that was using massive amounts of electricity and unstable compounds, such as plutonium.

Somebody was messing around with radio-active substances…and that usually wasn't good.

Frankly it was enough to get Leo ordering that they need to find out where the signals were coming from and what they were being used to do. So for the next few weeks the purple-clad turtle would try to locate the source of the signals, with little to no luck. But in the recent week, the signal activity suddenly spiked, and Don had been able to get not-quite an entire lock on a signal but it was enough to tell them the general area. The result had been disturbing.

The source of the signals was located in Manhattan.

So now here they were, trying to find out exactly where _in _Manhattan it was, which brings us back to the present:

"I'm booooooored."

_Smack!_

"Ow!"

"Shut it Mikey! We're all pissed and bored an' we don't need you remind-"

"Guys, I got it! Directly 120 meters northeast!"

Leo ran to the edge of the building, "Let's go!" and the group quickly followed, relieved that they were _finally _getting somewhere. They dashed and jumped over rooftops, adrenaline pumping through their systems. Finally they reached a rather abandoned part of Manhattan, where condemned buildings occupied each corner of space on the streets, decorated with graffiti and gang slogans. Trash and filth cluttered the streets and there wasn't a single lamppost working or even flickering making the area seem like a dark ghost town.

However, in the midst of the rubble and trash, stood one building that had yet to be marked by spray paint or vandalism. It was a large building, with 5 floors and was surrounded by a chain link fence. If that wasn't enough, the area surrounding the building was crawling with men in black suits who were carrying flashlights and guns.

Mona Lisa raised an eyebrow, "Gee I wonder which one it is?" she asked sarcastically. The mutants quietly jumped over the building that was closest to their target, being extremely careful not to drag any attention to themselves. Leo leaned cautiously over the building and narrowed his eyes at the men who passed under them, unaware they were being watched.

Leo turned to the others, a serious expression on his face, "Ok guys let's go over the plan one more time. Raph and Mona, you guys take the back; Venus and I will take the front; and Don, Mikey you two take the side. We'll all keep our eyes and ears open and keep in contact via our shell cells. We contact each other if anybody finds anything, and make sure to-"

"Yeah, yeah Leo, we get it! Now let's stop wastin' time an' get in dere!" Raph rushed past him, Mona following closely behind. Don and Mikey gave him a helpless shrug and also jumped down and started making their way to the building. Leo growled in frustration and rubbed his temple. A soft hand at his shoulder made him stop and he turned to face Venus. She gave him a small smile which he weakly returned, "Let's go." And they too, quietly approached the building.

Using their ninja stealth, they quietly snuck passed the guards. Leo and Venus watched and waited until the security cameras were looking away before slipping inside one of the windows. Quietly, they made their way down the hall, ducking behind corners and staying in the shadows. After a little while they both began walking down a long hallway, keeping their eyes peeled.

Suddenly voices came from the end of the hall; quickly the two turtles hid themselves in a dark room and shut the door. They both pressed themselves against the door and listened carefully.

"How are subjects 99 and 101?" a female voice, hard and commanding, asked.

"It's incredible Doctor. They both have survived the final phases of the metamorphosis, and they have been the first to do so. It seems that the latest formulas have worked the best for our subjects!" Another voice responded, and they stopped right in front of the room. Leo tensed, _Subjects? Metamorphosis? What's going on here? _

"Hmm, not entirely. I seem to recall subject 100 dying halfway through its metamorphosis."

"Ah yes, it did. It seems that the formula only worked with the amphibian subjects, not the mammals. Would you like the see the body Doctor? It was placed in this room with the others…"

The two turtles went rigid as the doorknob began to turn slowly. Leo clutched the handle of his katana and they both waited with baited breath.

"No. I will examine it later. For now I want subject 99 brought to the experiment lab. I have some…tests I wish to perform." Venus felt an icy chill race up her spine at the woman's tone. The way she spoke about this 'subject 99'; it was…evil. She shuddered.

"Yes, Doctor." Leo listened closely until he could no longer hear their footsteps before releasing his breath. Leo turned around and looked into the darkness of the room. Venus stood beside him and also looked into the shadows. A look in each other's eyes, told that they were both thinking the same thing.

_The dead body was placed in here with the others…?_

Spotting the light switch, Leo walked slowly over to it and hesitated; did he really want to see what was in this room? He hesitated for a moment more before flipping the switch. Artificial light flooded the room and Venus gave a sharp gasp and Leo felt his stomach lurch.

"Holy shell…"

Bodies and black bags. Dozens of them. Everywhere. All of them some kind of mutant, but not all of them were completely formed. He noted the body nearest to them, a tiger of some kind, had human-like features. Leo's eyes widened.

_They were using humans as test subjects…_

Whipping out his shell cell, he began calling the others, while Venus gaped in horror at the gruesome sight before her. She shook her head in a mixture of disgust and pity.

"All these people…all these poor souls." She whispered softly. The cruelty and viciousness of man never ceased to amaze her. _How could they do this to their own people? _She thought sadly as she gazed at the body of a female bird mutant, its yellow feathers discolored with dried blood.

"Guys, can you hear me? Come in."

"_Yo, Leo what's up?" _

"_Did you find something Leo?"_

"Yeah," Leo replied grimly, "It seems that the people here have been using humans to make mutants."

Somewhere else in the building, Mona Lisa went stiff. Taking the cell out of her boyfriend's hand she whispered softly into it, "Are…are any of them alive?"

"…_Most of them are dead…"_

Raph placed his hands on her shoulders and squeezed them tightly.

"…_but there might be two who are still alive." _

Mona's head jerked up, "What? We gotta get them out of here, Leo!"

"_We will but we don't know where they are; we'll have to search the entire building." _

"…_it just doesn't make sense."_

"Huh? What do you mean Don?" Raph asked as he took the cell back out of Mona's hand. He heard Don sigh on the other end.

"_I-I mean doesn't it seem odd? If people are being used as guinea pigs here, you think we would have heard something on the news about people going missing? I mean how many people are here-"_

"_Dozens." _Interrupted Leo, _"There were dozens of them."_

"_See? I mean with that many people you would have thought that somebody-"_

Don froze in mid-speech. He stared directly at Mikey with a look of dread on his face. Mikey fidgeted, "What? Why are you staring at me like that? Is there something on my face?"

"Mike…" Don began wearily, "What are you leaning on?"

Confused, Mikey looked down against the wall he was leaning against, and felt his stomach drop. There at the very bottom of the wall was a small box with a small red beam of light being projected out of it and connected with his ankle. And it was blinking. Mikey looked up with a look that mirrored Don's.

"Oh sh-"

_**INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!**_

"Oh _shell!_" Mikey moaned as sirens began to sound and voices began shouting. Don hissed in irritation, "Aw crap, Mikey!"

"_What the shell just happened?"_

"_Damn it who set off the alarm?"_

"Mikey tripped a security beam. The place is gonna be flooded with goons in seconds!" Don replied as he whipped out his bo staff and Mikey took out his nun-chucks, and they both heard voices coming closer.

"_Damn! We're going to have to abort the mission guys, let's regroup at the north side of the building."_

Mona grabbed the cell out of Raph's hand, "NO! No way! What about those two who are still here? We can't leave them!"

"_We can't help them if we're dead or caught. We'll have to regroup and think of a plan to get them out."_

Mona got ready to scream back about what she thought of his little 'plan' but was stopped by Raph, who looked uncharacteristically serious, "I hate ta admit it, but Fearless is right. We can't find these two an' escape all these thugs at the same time. But we'll come back for them, I promise."

Mona grit her teeth and clenched her fists but in the end nodded. Raph squeezed her shoulders and turned towards the end of the hall where he could see the guards coming. He took out his sais and twirled them in his hands.

"Looks like we're gonna hafta fight our way through."

Mona narrowed her eyes and brought up her fists, "Is there any other way?"

Raph grinned and tensed his muscles, Mona Lisa beside him. He smirked, "Let's do this."

On the other side of the building

"Cowabunga!"

Mikey cheered as he fought his way through guards and scientists, nun-chucks flying and hitting hard on peoples' limbs and heads. He did a Matrix dodge as one scientist tried to fling a lamp stand at him and quickly kicked his feet from under him. Mikey grinned boldly as he whooped, "Man I love being a turtle! And not only a turtle, but a _ninja _turtle!"

Meanwhile, Don had been surrounded by a few guards and one lady who had an unfriendly-looking needle in her hand and a rather sinister grin on her face. Plus she was wearing a hot pink lab coat.

Seriously; what the shell?

Don gripped his staff and watched them warily. One guard took a step forward and suddenly found himself on the ground, winded by the sudden blow to his mid-section and soon two more guys followed him. Twirling his staff Don easily knocked down the guards until only the woman was left. By this time her grin was gone and had been replaced with a vicious snarl on her lips.

"You're going to make an excellent specimen you freaky little-" Mikey snuck up behind her and gave her a good thump on the back of her head, letting her fall to the floor unconscious. The two turtles stared curiously at her.

"Ooooookay. Is it just me or does she seem a little loco?" Mikey asked. Don raised an eyebrow, "A little?" he responded.

"Come on! I think the intruders are this way!" the sound of many footsteps began to run towards them.

Mikey gulped, "Uh where do we go now?" Don looked around and glanced towards the ceiling. He grinned, "We go up." Mikey, confused, looked up to where Don was looking: a vent. He groaned.

"Aw man, do we have to?"

"Would you rather stay here and chat with the nice people who are trying to kill us?"

"…Point taken. Lead the way."

The turtles quickly opened the vent and climbed inside just in time to avoid the oncoming guards. Barely.

"Okay now let's head to the north side of the building."

"Right, so which wa-EEK! There's a _bug _in here, ohmigod-oh wait. That's Raph's thing. Never mind; onward!"

Don sighed.

Another side of the building

"Venus…come on, we need to get to the north side."

Venus pulled her gaze away from the bodies to the solemn eyes of the blue-clad turtle. She sighed and nodded sadly. Leo opened the door and let Venus pass first, after making sure the coast was clear. He took one last glance at the morbid room, and bowed his head in respect for the dead. Quietly he clicked off the light and shut the door. He nodded towards Venus, "Let's move." And they both ran down the hallway.

Little did they know if they had stayed there for another 9 ½ minutes they would have come across the two subjects they were going to help. Oh well.

…

The hallway was flooded with guards, and they were having trouble getting through. Leo used his katanas and tried to slice his way down the hallway but was having difficulties. Venus, on the other hand, did not have a weapon and was having a bit more trouble than Leo.

Her eyes narrowed as she put her hands together to form a sort of triangle. She began a low chant and concentrated her chi to her hands. Suddenly a ball of light, about the size of a softball, formed between her hands and she forced the ball towards her opponents knocking them back. Unfortunately the force of the blast forced Venus to slide into the window behind her and she collided with an 'Oof!'

Panting slightly, Venus gazed out the window and saw the golden and red hues of sunrise.

_The sun is rising already…_

Suddenly she saw something moving outside. Her eyes narrowed but then widened at the sight she saw. She gasped softly.

Two figures, both slightly feminine in shape, began running towards the fence that surrounded the building. Quickly they both began climbing the fence, one figure pausing to help the other over the fence, and as soon as they both were over, they began running towards the fading night lights of the city. But this was not what caused Venus to gasp.

One of them had a tail.

_Those two…could they be…?_

"Venus come on! We need to move!" Leo shouted to her; he had reached the end of the hall. Venus quickly began running towards him, "Leo! I-I think I saw them!" Leo looked at her confused, "What? Who?" Venus pointed out the window, "The two subjects that survived! I think they just escaped over the fence! They were heading towards the city!"

Leo opened his mouth to reply but was cut off at the sound of more approaching guards. He grit his teeth and shouted, "We'll talk about later but right we need to get to the others!"

Venus nodded and the two blue-clad turtles fought their way to the north side of the building. By the time they reached them Mona, Raph, Don, and Mikey were already fighting off the guards there.

"Geez Fearless, what took ya so long?" Raph shouted as he punched out a guard.

"Yeah dude, you're missing all the fun!" Mikey joked as he flipped over a guard and swept his legs out from him.

The band of mutants began fighting their way through the guards, until they had been backed into the fence. Leo frowned as he gazed around his enemies and saw no escape route. He looked out of the corner of his eye towards Venus, who caught his gaze and nodded. Quickly grabbing a smoke pellet from the pouch on her leg, she threw it to the ground and cried, "Everyone, take cover!"

Grey smoke exploded everywhere, and the mutants quickly made their escape as the guards shouted and cursed in confusion. They did not stop running until they were well into the heart of the city and hid themselves in one of the darker alleyways that had not been touched by the sunlight yet. They all were bruised and slightly bloody, but alive.

"Man," Mikey panted, "That was some workout." Everyone groaned.

"So, what do we do about the ones we left behind? How do we rescue them?" demanded Mona as she glared slightly at Leo. He looked up and replied, "We may not need to." And he nodded to Venus.

"Yes," Venus said, "I saw them escape out of the building while we were fighting the guards. They are here in the city."

Don's brow furrowed, "Are you sure? It wasn't just some scientists running away?"

Venus nodded her head, "I am positive. One of them had a tail."

The group was silent as they mulled over this. Finally Raph looked up and said, "So…we gotta look fer 'em now, right? I mean they're all alone in dis city, and it's a pretty brutal place ta be on your own, especially if you're a mutant."

Leo nodded and spoke seriously, "Yeah and we have find them fast. Those people will be looking for them too, especially since they were the only ones to…survive their experiments. If they get to them first, they might not last much longer." A heavy silence fell over the group as they thought of what the scientists might do to those poor people.

Leo spoke up suddenly, "Well we can't do anything now. Let's head back to the lair and get some sleep. We'll look for them as soon as the sun goes down." The others nodded their heads and followed Leo as he lifted a manhole and one by one they jumped down and started making their way home.

"…You know, we never found out what those signals Donnie found were about."

_Smack!_

"Shut up Mikey."

"Owie!"

-~-~-#*)**C**(*#-~-~-

Garbage had never tasted so good. I chomped into a stale head of cabbage and handed one to Ana. She didn't even think twice before scarfing the whole thing down, and peered over the dumpster to find more. We hadn't eaten real food in what felt like an eternity, so I leaned over and joined Ana in her mindless dumpster diving.

The sun was shining through the tops of the buildings all around us, and its warmth was almost as welcoming as the old vegetables in our stomachs. I looked around at the illuminated tall buildings, all covered with graffiti and dark with filth. They were strangely comforting compared to our over-sanitized white cells back at the psycho-lab.

"Looks like we're in some kind of city." Ana said, looking around and taking a bite of a dark brown carrot.

I nodded. "Yeah. It's funny, all this time I felt so alone in that…_laboratory_…that I never thought we would be so close to civilization. Who knew there was a city surrounding us this whole time?"

Ana opened her mouth to say something, but a door in a building next to the dumpster swung open and a man in a green apron stepped out carrying a trashcan full of aged vegetables and whistling a rather cheery tune. He kicked the door closed behind him and turned to face us. The whistling stopped. He stood there, staring at us, his eyes wide and his mouth agape. Was he _afraid_ of us?

I felt naked. I covered myself with my hands, and then remembered. I only had four fingers. And my whole body was red. And I had a tail. And-

"S-s-stay away!" The man shouted. He lifted the trashcan over his head, spilling vegetables all over the ground, and aimed it at Ana. "B-beast!"

Ana's face turned as red as my body, and she stood there, too afraid to move. The man swung the trash can back, and threw it directly at Ana's blushing face.

"Ana!" I shrieked, and my world seemed to slow down, almost freeze. I placed one foot in front of the other and raced toward the trashcan. I clutched it in both hands as it slowly floated toward Ana's head, and stopped it in mid-air. I blinked, and the world seemed to speed up again. The trashcan became very heavy and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ana flinch.

She blinked and looked up; confused that she didn't take a trashcan full of vegetables to the face. "Cle-" she started, but I tossed the heavy trashcan back at the man, who was staring half scared out of his mind and half confused as hell about what just happened. The trashcan flew directly into his stomach and I heard him grunt as I turned and grabbed Ana's hand.

I raced down a nearby alley, turning around different corners of buildings that lead to various streets. People were walking in and out of doors, driving cars, and looking out windows. I flew past them, praying that somehow they wouldn't see us and spotted a dark, abandoned-looking building ahead. It was the color of ash, and parts of the walls were missing, and the inside looked very dark. Perfect.

"Cleo," Ana wheezed. She was trying to move her legs really fast to keep up with mine, but she kept tripping over her own feet and I was practically dragging her. I leaped through one of the large holes in the building and raced blindly through the darkness.

"Cleo Stop!" Ana shrieked. I dug my heels into the ground and came to an abrupt halt. Ana ran into my back, and we both fell onto the cool, damp floor. A small beam of light shone through another hole in one of the walls, and illuminated the spot where we had fallen.

I sat up and helped Ana to her knees. "Are you ok?" I whispered.

Ana was still panting to catch her breath as she looked me in the eye. "How…can…you…run so…fast?" she wheezed.

I shook my head. I had no idea, and I didn't remember being able to run so quickly before. Except at the lab, when I was looking for Ana's cell…

"Great." Ana sighed, her breathing normal again. "I ooze slime and you run like a gazelle."

"No." I said, remembering the red salamander picture above my door. "Not a gazelle, a salamander, and you had a picture of a frog."

Ana looked very confused for a moment, searching her memory for what I was talking about. Then a sad look of reality slapping her in the face, replaced her confused expression. "Oh." she whispered as tears filled her eyes. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed. "We're freaks!"

I pulled her into a hug, and blinked back tears of my own. I wasn't sure what to say. I felt hideous, like I had lost some wonderful part of me and it had been replaced by my freaky, red salamander body. How was I supposed to comfort my best friend when I couldn't even comfort myself?

"That man called me a beast!" Ana hiccupped. "A beast!"

"You're not a beast Ana," I whispered, "and neither am I." I pulled her away from me and looked straight at her. "Have you noticed that everyone here, even that man, looks a little weird?"

She whipped her eyes and nodded.

"They all seem kinda…animated." I continued.

She nodded again. "Where are we? I feel like we're in a cartoon."

"I don't know," I shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"What if-" she looked down.

"Yes?"

"What if we-"

"What? What if we what, Ana?"

"What if we're _inside_ _a cartoon_?" She muttered, still staring at the ground.

Normally, I would have been rolling on the floor laughing at such a suggestion but this time I couldn't, because I was thinking along the same lines. From the moment I had woken up in the lab, I had felt like I was in some sort of comic but I was too scared to admit it to myself not to mention saying such a thing out loud. "Ok," I sighed, "suppose we are in some sort of cartoon world. How do we escape it?"

Ana looked up at me again, this time with a glare. "Do you really think _I_ would know how."

"No. I'm sorry." I hugged her again and walked over to the hole in the wall. "But I think we both know we can go parading around in broad daylight, looking the way we do. Let's stay in here where it's nice and cool until the sun goes down then we can go explore our surroundings a bit better."

Ana nodded and joined me at the hole to watch the people on the street go by; unaware of our mutant eyes peering through the darkness at them. Eventually, Ana fell asleep on the floor and I watched the sun impatiently, waiting for it to set.

Finally, when the last pinkish-rays of sunset had disappeared through the holes on the other side of the building, I turned to wake up Ana. But a loud crash came from another hole in the wall, and woke her up instead.

She screamed, and I rushed to her side. I grabbed her hand and tried to run, but collided head first into a big black coat. I rubbed my head, and Ana screamed even louder as another black coat ripped her from my grasp and tossed her into a circle of black coats.

"No!" I shouted. We were completely surrounded by almost two dozen of the dark men from the lab. One man pointed a gun at me, and I froze with my hands in the air.

I heard Ana scream yet again and one of the dark men by her laughed menacingly. "Don't you touch her!" I barked, forgetting the barrel aimed at my forehead.

"Shut up!" another dark man behind me barked back, and pinned my arms. He shoved me to the ground, still holding my arms, and the other men all laughed in unison. They all stepped closer to me, closing in the circle. "No!" I shouted again. "Stop!"

"Now that is just sick dude." Said a loud voice from above.

The dark men all stopped and looked up.

"Yeah, man. Don't 'cha know dat dis whole ding looks totally wrong from up here?" came another voice.

The dark man with the gun pointed his barrel at the ceiling.

"Ladies should be treated with more respect!" A more feminine voice shouted.

The dark man cocked his gun, aimed, and-

"Surprise!" A green figure swung from a beam and knocked the man over from behind. Five more figures rained down from the ceiling and all around me, the dark men began to fall. The man pinning me let go and raced toward one of the green figures. I leapt to my feet and looked around wildly for Ana.

"Whoa, what happened here man?" came a voice behind me. Four men were laying on the ground, gasping and twitching; and then they stopped completely. Ana lay curled in the middle of them, slime oozing out of her back. A green figure stood over one of the men, and kicked him experimentally with his green foot. I gasped and stared dumb-founded at the life-size turtle standing before me. He was a mutant like me. A mutant turtle.

He stepped toward Ana and reached out a hand to touch her back. "Hey miss are you al-"

"Don't touch her!" I shouted, and in a flash I was between them. Holding his arm away from Ana.

He jerked his hand back in surprise. "Holy shell!" He shouted and two more turtles raced to his side. "You ok Don?" said one turtle with a dark blue bandana.

Don nodded and fixed his purple bandana. "Yeah I'm fine man, she just scared the shit out of me."

The turtle on the other side of Don in a light blue, braided bandana stepped closer to me and looked me up and down. "You ok?" She said softly.

I nodded, still a little dumfounded. A few more grunts were heard from the other side of the building then it was surprisingly quiet.

"Is everyone ok?" Shouted the turtle in dark blue clad.

"Yeah." Came a few replies. Two more turtles and a gecko leaped over to us and looked from me to Ana, who was staring at them with the same dumbfounded look that I was still wearing.

We all just stood there, staring at each other silently until the turtle in dark blue clad cleared his throat. "Well, since this seems to be an _awkward_ place to talk, why don't you ladies follow us and we'll…um…talk, about all this."

The gecko surprised a giggle and a turtle in red clad smiled.

I looked at them dumbly. "Follow you…where?"

The turtle in light blue smiled reassuringly at me, and held my hand between hers.

"Somewhere safe." She whispered.


	5. Back to the Lair

**Eskimo: Hey everybody! Sorry for the delay, midterms and all that silly balderdash! xD**

**Bunnie: College…it blows sometimes.**

**Eskimo: We don't own TMNT but we do own cats… **

**Bunnie: REVIEW BITCHES! **

**Eskimo: …Please –gives puppy pout-**

_Oh my god. They're real. _

That was all I could think as we walked silently through the dark and dank tunnels of New York's sewage system. Strange and sour odors surrounded us, accompanied with the stench of mold and garbage; it was enough to make me breathe through my mouth. It was incredibly dark, with only shadows and the occasional, brief lighting from a street light when we passed a gutter overhead for visibility. I stared unfailingly at the red tails of Raphael's bandana, which stood out brightly in the dark, as he strode in front of me, hugging Cleo to me as she, in return, held me close with an arm wrapped around my shoulders.

_Oh my god, they're REAL, _I thought to myself for the eleventh time as we took a sudden turn around a corner and the ends of Raphael's bandana lightly tickled my snout (not my nose, I didn't have a nose anymore) due to the sudden motion. I resisted the urge to sneeze and blinked my eyes several times. I grimaced when I felt my bare foot step into something slimy and I heard Cleo whisper quietly in the darkness, "How much farther?"

"Just a little further." I heard Leonardo respond, just as quietly from behind us. They had formed a circle around us; with Raphael and Donatello in front, Leonardo and Michelangelo behind us, Venus on Cleo's left, and Mona Lisa on my right. _They act like we're gonna make a break for it or something, _I thought sullenly, _but still, oh my god, they're _real_._

My mind was still reeling from the encounter back in the abandoned warehouse, when we had been discovered by the suits, when they had ripped Cleo away from me, when they surrounded me, when they all grabbed me with their ice cold hands, and when they all collapsed from the poison (I'm assuming that's what it was) coming from my multihued skin.

Then, of course, when the turtles came onto the scene that had been the cherry on top. I had been so stunned by the attack I didn't realize that they had come until Cleo freaked out when Donatello had attempted to touch me. I looked up and received another one of the biggest shocks in my life. Five turtles and a gecko, stood before us, clad in their signature colors and weapons still drawn from their short battle with the suits, staring curiously at me and my friend. I, in return, gaped soundlessly back.

I knew who they were the moment I saw them, I mean, how could I not? I had been watching their cartoon (the new one) ever since middle school, and I had even watched the old cartoon and some episodes of the live-action series. Hell, I even owned all the movies. But, seeing them there, less than 10 feet away, _real _and _breathing _just about made me fall back onto the floor in a faint. It was like a freaky episode of the _Twilight Zone _or a poorly written fan fiction come to life.

But I was brought out of my stupor when the female turtle in light blue (_Venus, _I thought, _her name is Venus_) had stepped up to Cleo and had taken her hand in her own and spoke to her about a safe place.

I don't know about the rest of you out there, but getting to a safe place sounded like Heaven to me.

Glancing at Cleo, I knew she was just as freaked out and confused as I was, but going with the turtles (and gecko) was probably the safest choice we had at the moment. So Cleo nodded her consent and I quickly grabbed a pocket handkerchief from one of the fallen (dead?) men and quickly wiped off the slime that had coated my back and arms. I felt my cheeks burn in shame and embarrassment when I saw the turtles stare at me curiously, until Cleo had stepped into Donatello's line of vision and gave them a hard glare. Mona Lisa (who had caught on) promptly hit Michelangelo and Raphael in the back of the head and forced them to turn around. Leonardo and Venus politely turned their backs towards me.

After I finished 'cleaning up' I stood beside Cleo, pressing my side into hers, she wrapped a comforting arm around my shoulders and said, "Lead the way."

I was brought out of my flashbacks when I heard Mona Lisa say beside me, "Ok, it's just up ahead. Just a few more feet." I jumped slightly at the sudden sound of her voice, and saw her stare curiously at me from the corner of my eye. I felt my cheeks burn and lowered my gaze to my feet. I did that a lot, when I was feeling nervous or shy, which was most of the time.

_But that's another thing, _I thought to myself, _why are Mona Lisa and Venus here? They weren't even in the same show together; I mean Venus was a new character in a series that was cancelled, and Mona Lisa only showed up in one episode in the old cartoon. How is that they're here in the 2003 cartoon?_

I stared at Raphael again, just now realizing how tall he was, how tall _all _the turtles were. In the cartoons, they were supposed to be 5 feet tall. I was 5 feet and ½ inches. They practically towered over me (not anything new) but they all had to nearly 6 feet tall!

_It's so different from the 2003 cartoon…_

Donatello and Raphael stopped in front of a wall that was lined with pipes. Reaching up, Donatello pulled down one of the smaller pipes, which actually seemed to be a lever of sorts, and the wall opened up to reveal a large room. Or rather a _lair_.

I stepped into the lair and felt my jaw drop in awe. I heard Cleo take a sharp intake of breathe and knew she was just as stunned as I was.

The lair…wow. It's different when you see it on a screen, but when you're actually inside it…it's just completely mind-blowing.

For starters; it was huge. The main room (I'm assuming that's where we were) was the size of a small ballroom. Near the center of it was a small stream with a bridge over it (like in 2K3 cartoon) but off towards the far left wall were multiple game machines (like in the 2007 CGI movie). At the far northern wall, multiple televisions, of all shapes and sizes, lined the wall, all displaying different channels varying from the news to old black and white movies. In front of the TV wall was a large worn out couch that looked like it could sit ten people and a beat-up armchair, with duct tape covering the multiple holes that covered the chair. Also, littered across the floor were multiple video game consoles, along with a rather impressive collection of DVDs and VHSs.

To the right, I could see a walk-in area that led to a small kitchen and near that a large door that had caution tape on it. Donatello's lab perhaps? Near the corner of the room there was an open doorway that I was almost certain led to the turtles' dojo because close by it, that had multiple stone steps leading to it, was an area of the large room that had been closed off by traditional Japanese paper doors which I assumed led to Splinter's quarters. Then I noticed that there were multiple ladders that were stationed at random points in the room, as well as one main metal staircase that spiraled upwards, which led to an upper level where there were multiple doors that had various things on them. I assumed that these were the turtles' rooms and/or bathrooms.

All in all, this place was pretty epic for an underground sewer lair that was home to seven (now nine, including us) mutants.

While Cleo and I stood there with our jaws catching flies, Leonardo walked past us and called out, "Master Splinter, we're home. Are you here Master?" The others also walked past us and Cleo and I stood awkwardly in the doorway.

Michelangelo had stayed behind with us and turned with a goofy grin, "Welcome to the Turtle Cave, ladies. Would you like the grand tour of our luxurious abode?" he asked in a humorous tone. I felt the corners of my mouth turn upwards, and Michelangelo grinned cheerfully when he saw me smile. He opened his mouth to say more but was interrupted when Mona Lisa waltzed over, "Tour can wait Mikey. I bet these two would like to get cleaned up a bit first before we do anything, am I right?"

And she was. The thought of a shower was divine and I knew we looked, and probably smelled, awful. But before we could respond, Leonardo walked over with a small piece of paper in his hand, "That might have to wait. Master Splinter is visiting with Casey and April but his note says he'll be back pretty soon." I lifted my head slightly and feigned ignorance, "Casey and April?" I asked my voice slightly hoarse from disuse. They looked slightly surprised at my sudden vocalization, but I couldn't blame them; it was the first time I had spoken with them this evening.

"They're two humans we know, but don't worry they're our friends." Mona Lisa explained before turning back to Leonardo, "And c'mon Leo, look at them. They look like they haven't had a decent shower in days, and probably feel like crap. Let 'em take a shower then we can ask them questions." I lowered my head again to hide my blush. We really did look awful. I felt Cleo squeeze my shoulder slightly and she frowned at Mona Lisa slightly, who then looked a little sheepish, "Ah no offence guys."

"None taken. But please, let us clean up first. We haven't felt clean in days." With a little hesitance, Leonardo agreed and Mona Lisa led us up the metal spiral staircase, which wobbled and creaked slightly as we walked up it. I was slightly afraid it would fall, but it didn't. When we reached the next level she led us to a simple wooden door that had nothing on it and opened it. Inside was a basic medium-sized bathroom, with a toilet, sink, mirror, and a medium shower stall, and on the rack were two worn, but clean, white towels. Mona Lisa smiled kindly at us, "Take your time. We'll be downstairs when you're ready." And with that she shut the door and left us to our privacy.

And for a moment, we just stood there, staring at the door, wondering if all this was real and not part of some twisted dream. I was the first to break the silence, "Cleo," I croaked softly, "Are those guys really…"

"Yeah," she nodded shakily, "I-I think they are." She looked at me with a look that mirrored my own: sheer bewilderment. I stared at her, still utterly confused, "But how?" Cleo bit her lower lip and thought for a moment before speaking, "You know how we were talking earlier, about how we might be in a cartoon? Well, I think we just found out which one we're in."

I began shaking my head, "B-but Cleo, it's all wrong. It looks like we're in the 2003 cartoon, but Venus and Mona Lisa are here and they're both from different shows, and even then it all looks so different but at the same time similar to the 2003 cartoon, and it's just-just so _confusing_." Cleo also shook her head, "Your guess is as good as mine, Ana. I mean remember that movie that came out last year? _Turtles Forever_? Maybe it's something like that."

In all honesty I had forgotten _Turtles Forever _but now that I thought about it, it made sense. In the movie it talked about all the different turtle dimensions… perhaps this was one of them? Where multiple TMNT worlds crossed over? It was possible, utterly confusing and freaky, but possible. But if that was the case how much of each world was true here? Did Karai exist here? Leatherhead? And if he did was he an ally or an enemy? What about Krang? The Purple Dragons? Bishop? Bebop and Rocksteady? Did any of them exist here, or perhaps there were alternate versions of them here? What about the Shredder?

I felt a chill go up my spine as I thought of all the villains that could exist here, in this dimension. It was all just too much to take in. But then a different thought came to me and I felt the sickly tendrils of nervousness work their way through my stomach.

"Cleo…what are we going to tell them?" She looked at me confused, "I-I mean should we tell them that we're from a different dimension? That where we come from they're just a cartoon? What should we say, I mean they're gonna want to know!"

Cleo's green eyes widened, "Oh shit you're right!" She ran a four-fingered hand through her ginger hair and I gnawed on my lower lip nervously. Cleo looked down at the tiled bathroom floor, deep in thought. Finally after a long moment she looked up and stared at me, with a serious look on her crimson face.

"I think," She said slowly, "We shouldn't tell them about our dimension. At least, not right away."

I bit my lip harder. "But…what _will _we tell them?"

"The truth," she replied, her voice firm, "Just not the whole truth. We'll tell them that we where drugged and kidnapped, and then we woke up at the…building."

The nervous twisting in my stomach worsened, "But Cleo…I-I feel bad about lying to them…" I had never been a very good liar; I always stuttered and could never look people in the eyes when I lied. I had been raised to be an honest and sincere person, so telling fibs was not my specialty.

Cleo put her hands on my spotted shoulders and looked me firmly in the eyes, "Ana, I know you don't want to lie to them, I don't want to either, but we have to consider the consequences if we did tell them the truth. I mean, what if they didn't believe us? What if they thought we were crazy or if we were spies or something? What would we do then?"

I slumped my shoulders in defeat to Cleo's words. She was right. If we told them and they didn't believe us and thought we were crazy, we would be in even worse trouble than before. But still…this whole situation…

"Maybe we _are _crazy." I whispered, my voice cracking, "Maybe we're all just trapped in this-this weird crazy dream where cartoons are real and take you home with them!" My throat felt thick and I felt tears begin to build up behind my eyes. Cleo's warm arms wrapped around me and she hugged me tightly.

"Well I hate to break it to you, sweetie," she whispered, her tone joking, but with an underlying hint of intense emotion, "But if you're dreaming then your world is a nightmare."

I let out a sound that sounded like a mix of a sob and a laugh. Even now, when the world was making less and less sense by the second, Cleo was there to pick me up again. Cleo is always there.

But sometimes…I worry about her. I really do.

After a minute or two, I forced myself out of Cleo's embrace and smiled weakly at her. She mirrored my expression, with a strained, exhausted look in her eyes. We both were tired and dirty. But fortunately, we had a solution to the latter problem.

Honest to God; a shower stall never looked so beautiful.

I hesitated slightly before turning to Cleo and said, "Go ahead C. You first." She turned to me surprised and relieved. She gave me a grateful smile before going into the stall and closing the curtain. Soon I heard the sound of running water and I sat myself on the lid of the toilet as steam began to cloud the mirror. I rested my elbows on my knees and placed my chin in my hands.

I stared hard at the checkerboard tiled floor deep in thought. _This is all happening so fast, _I thought to myself. My head ached and my stomach began to feel sick again, probably had something to do with the garbage Cleo and I were eating earlier. Hopefully we wouldn't get sick, I wasn't sure our weak and malnourished bodies could handle it. _In fact, I'm surprised we made it this far, _I thought. _As weakened as we were, we shouldn't have even been able to run away from that building, or find that shelter…_

I frowned deeply. Was it due to the mutation we had gone through? Had our bodies somehow evolved, or gone through some sort of genetic enhancement? Cleo was definitely faster than she had ever been before, inhumanly so.

_And what about me? _I thought, looking down at my blue and black body. _Whenever I get really freaked out, poison slime comes out of my skin and kills anybody who touches me. _I felt my stomach roll. _I didn't mean to kill those people. But-but they were hurting me; they would have taken us back! _I shuddered, suddenly feeling very cold in the steamy room. _And what if there's more? _I thought, suddenly feeling very anxious, _what if we have more abilities that we aren't aware of yet? What if we hurt someone?_

I let out a slow shaky breath.

_What if __**I **__hurt more people?_

"Ok hon, it's all yours." Cleo stepped out of the shower and grabbed one of the towels on the rack. I quickly stepped past her and closed the shower curtain so she wouldn't see the sickened look on my face. I already worried her enough today. I turned the metal knob nearly all the way to the red 'H'. Scalding hot water poured down on me, making me yelp and quickly lower the temperature. Once I found a comfortable setting, I tilted my head back and let the warm water rush over me. I sighed softly in delight.

Warmth rushed over me and I felt the dirt, sweat, and whatever-else there was wash off of me, making me feel clean for the first time in weeks. I bowed my head directly underneath the showerhead and let my short dark hair become completely soaked. Spotting a bottle of shampoo and conditioner (probably Mona Lisa's) I grabbed it greedily and poured a small handful into my hand. The smell of strawberries invaded my nostrils and I scrubbed it roughly through my matted hair. I scrubbed harshly until my scalp hurt and rinsed it out, watching as the light pink suds spiral down the drain. Next I grabbed the conditioner and poured a small dollop in my hand and worked it through my hair. After I rinsed that out, I stayed underneath the spray of the water, not wanting to leave just yet. I opened my eyes and blinked through the water and stared at the wall. It wasn't until after a few moments I realized that I was crying. I blinked my eyes rapidly and breathed deeply.

_Ok Ana, get a grip._

After a few more moments, I reluctantly turned off the water and stepped out of the stall. Cleo handed me the other towel and I began drying myself off, inhaling the clean scent of fabric softener that emitted from the towel. After I dried myself off, I instinctively turned to the counter where I would normally put the clothes I would wear after taking a shower. I blushed, remembering that not only was I a mutant, but I was completely naked as well.

_And I was walking right next to all those boys…oh my god. _I thought miserably, feeling utterly humiliated. Cleo was combing her fingers through her long ginger hair, trying to smooth it out a little. After she got it looking semi-presentable she turned to me and gave a weak smile, "Well, shall we get this over with?" she asked, turning the doorknob. I nodded feebly and pulled my arms to in front of my small chest; another nervous habit I had.

We stepped out of the bathroom and walked down the spiral staircase, and finally stood before the mutants who had taken us here. They seated themselves on the large couch or were standing near it, watching us carefully. We each gave them nervous smiles and Cleo broke the silence, saying wearily, "So…what now?"

"Now, young misses, you tell us what exactly happened to you, to make you look this way." A voice with a thick Japanese accent spoke directly behind us. Cleo and I yelped and nearly jumped a foot in the air, and turned to see a large rat standing less than 3 feet behind us.

_H-how the hell did he get so close without us noticing…wait. _I thought as it finally clicked, _This…this is __**Splinter**__. _I felt a wave of awe overcome the surprise. And there he was, staring at us with ancient eyes that just seemed to radiate wisdom and intelligence. I stared at him, amazement and wonder swirling inside me.

I had never really said it before, but Splinter had always been my favorite character in the TMNT series. He had always been the source of wisdom and knowledge in the show, with the occasional funny line that made everyone laugh. And even though he was so old, he could still kick anybody's ass five ways to Sunday if he wanted to, which earned him major badass points in my book. I also always thought there was never a true deep look into his character in the show, which usually focused on the turtles, which I felt made, him underappreciated. But still, seeing him there, real, made it all seem so surreal.

And then I felt very small and young underneath his powerful and aged gaze. He regarded us with an unreadable emotion on his face and was silent for some time. Finally after what felt like an eternity (at least to me) he gestured a paw towards to couch and said, "Would you both like to sit down while we have our discussion." It was not a question.

We both took the hint and quickly seated ourselves on the cushy seats of the couch. Cleo and I sat in the middle, and the turtles situated themselves around us, again forming a circle. Mona Lisa sat on my left, Venus on Cleo's right, Raphael and Donatello each sat on an arm of the armchair, Michelangelo leaned against the side of the couch, and Leonardo kneeled beside Splinter, who kneeled in the traditional Japanese style in front of us.

Before now I hadn't really been able to get a good look at our rescuers, due to the darkness in the tunnels and the overall shock, but now in the light of the lair I could see them all in great detail.

Mona Lisa, who was the closest to me, was colored asparagus green, but her front torso and inner thighs were yellow, although she didn't have a plastron like the others. Her hair was chestnut brown, thick and pulled into a high ponytail. Her tail was as long and thick as Cleo's, though she seemed to have better control over it. Her hands were webbed and her wrists to her elbows were wrapped in bandages. Her eyes were a honey brown color, and she (typically) wore a pink scarf around her neck. I noticed that she had a large tattoo on her left shoulder; a heart of some kind with words written in it, but from my angle I couldn't see what.

Donatello was olive-green in color, with the traditional yellowish plastron. His eyes were a light hazel and they stared at us curiously from his violet mask, as we were an interesting puzzle waiting to be solved. He was well muscled, though I noticed a great amount of calluses on his hands, probably due to handling a bo staff all his life. I noticed on his cheeks, underneath his mask, were spots that were colored a darker shade of green than the rest of his body. Freckles?

Raphael was the largest out of all of them by sheer muscle mass. His shoulders were broad, his legs and arms thick with muscle; but what stood out the most to me were the two large scars on his face. One ran from the left side of his head to underneath his left eye, and the other from the right side of his chin to the middle of his right cheek. His plastron also had many nicks and cuts in it as well. Battle wounds I guessed. His eyes were an exotic amber that seem to glow unnaturally as he glared at us…or maybe he was glaring at everybody. I couldn't tell. Raphael was definitely the wildest out of all of them.

Michelangelo had the most interesting color; a sort of bluish-green that reminded me of sea foam. His eyes were big and blue, and his body language radiated excitement. He was muscled like the others, but he seemed the leanest, and his plastron was a brighter yellow than the others. He smiled widely at us, and I noticed that when he did so, his cheeks dimpled.

Venus's body was colored a tea green, however, unlike the other turtles, her plastron split in half at the top, exposing her cleavage and acting sort of like a corset. Her shell was also smaller than the others; while theirs covered nearly all of their backs hers only reached the small of her back. Her mask was a light teal color and the tails were braided. I also noticed that she wore a choker whose color matched her bandana and it had a yin-yang symbol on it. On her hands were custom made leather gloves and on her thigh was a holding pouch, like the kind you would see in the anime _Naruto_. Her eyes were almond-shaped and were so dark in color; I couldn't see where her irises and pupils touched.

Leonardo was colored an emerald green. His body was muscled and lean, a result from the intense training he had gone through his entire life, and if I looked carefully I could see the light hints of scars on his limbs and plastron from previous battles. His eyes were sharp and angular, colored a deep brown, they shone with a seriousness that made me more nervous than I already was. His mouth was set in a thin line and remained still as stone beside his sensei.

Splinter, by far, was the most interesting of all. He was about my height (again, taller than in the cartoon) and wore a black robe, that seemed to be made of silk, with white dragons on it. His fur was a mixture of dark gray and shining silver, and I saw a large pink tail peeking out from behind him. His hands and feet were wrapped in bandages and in one gnarled paw he held a polished bamboo cane. His snout was long and crooked, with one pink nose on the end; and two small ears (though one looked slightly torn) twitched on top of his head at the slightest sounds. But what got me the most were his eyes. They were large and radiated a sense of calm that swept over me like water running slowly in a stream. I felt my nervousness shrink away, and I felt very calm then, like I could tell him just about anything in the world, and I knew it would be okay. It was then I noticed the color of his eyes: a soothing gray.

He was silent for a while, observing us like we had done him, and then spoke softly, "So young ones…what are your names?"

Surprising myself, and probably the others as well, I spoke first, "My name is Anastasia." I flushed, realizing that I had given my full first name for no reason, "But most people call me Ana." I added quickly, feeling embarrassed. Splinter nodded at me and then turned his gaze to Cleo. Cleo straightened and said, "I'm Cleo. And _yes _it is short for Cleopatra, queen of the Nile. _But_ I prefer Cleo…or else." She added after seeing Mikey open his mouth, eyes narrowing. He closed it with abruptly.

Splinter, once again, nodded his head and introduced himself, "I am called Splinter. And these are my sons and daughters…"

"Leonardo…" He gestured to the turtle by his side. Leonardo gave us a polite nod but otherwise said nothing.

"…Raphael…" The red-banded turtle grunted and lifted his head in greeting.

"…Donatello…" He gave us a small, slightly nervous smile. "Hi." He said a bit bashfully, and rubbed the back of his neck.

"…Michelangelo…" The orange-banded turtle grinned broadly then winked at us and made a clicking sound with his teeth, "What's up dudettes?"

"…Venus…" She also gave a nod but smiled gently at us. "Welcome to our home." She greeted warmly.

"…and Mona Lisa." She too, gave us a grin and regarded us enthusiastically, "Welcome to the Cirque Du Freaks, ladies. And don't worry about him," she added, jerking her thumb at Raphael, "He might look like a total grump, but he's not so bad, once you get past his piss poor attitude."

Raphael scoffed and gave the gecko-girl a glare, "Yeah, well yer no saint either." He growled, although it seemed sort of lighthearted, like it was a joke between the two of them. Mona Lisa smirked and looked ready to sling back a retort but Splinter cleared his throat and stared sternly at the two mutants. The two murmured apologies and then the attention focus was back on us.

I fidgeted uneasily under the multiple gazes, not really sure what to say. What would happen now? The silence went on for a beat, and I hated it; long silences always seemed awkward and it made me very uncomfortable. I was lost, swimming around in my own thoughts, and I nearly jumped when I heard Cleo speak up beside me, "Excuse me for asking; but _where _did you guys come from exactly? I mean it's not every day you see giant turtles."

Splinter smiled gently and responded, "Yes, our story is a strange one." Suddenly the turtles all had grins on their faces and Michelangelo piped up excitedly, "Do you wanna hear it?" Cleo and I nodded eagerly, even though we both already knew the story it would still be far more interesting to hear in it person.

Splinter had a wise smile on his face and began the story, "It all began 20 years ago…"

-**Time Skip**-

Wow. Like I said about the lair, it's one thing seeing and hearing it on television, but being there and hearing it, in person, was just…wow.

The story itself was basically the same: Splinter had belonged to a man named Hamato Yoshi, who had been murdered by the Shredder, the boy with the glass jar of baby turtles, the metal canister, Splinter saving them, the mutation, and raising them to be ninja. He also told us of how they had come across many allies and foes, and how the war between them had been going on for a while now. But what was new to the story was (of course) Venus and Mona Lisa.

Venus had been the first of the two to join their group. It had been about 4 years ago when she had run into the turtles. It had been a huge shock for all of them; apparently there had been five turtles in the jar that got covered in ooze but somehow Splinter had missed her. Venus had been washed away by the sewer system and landed in Chinatown where she was found and raised by a man named I Chung, who took her to China with him and taught her chi magic and basic fighting skills, all the way to adolescence. But then one day, her father had been killed and Venus had vowed revenge. She had been following her adopted father's murderer and followed him to New York. Together they had defeated man and avenged I Chung. Venus had remained in New York ever since.

Mona Lisa's story was much different than her 80's cartoon counterpart's. Her father had been killed by a mafia gang who were connected with an illegal experimentation association. Mona Lisa had gone after them, wanting also to avenge her father, but had been caught. There she had been mutated and experimented on, until she managed to escape and then ran into the turtles. Then they had worked together and eventually brought her father's killers to justice, and had decided to remain with the turtles, rather than searching for a way to be human again. I suspected Raphael had to something to do with it (surprise, surprise).

And, finally when it was all over, I was blown away. The story was so familiar yet so different. This world wasn't the 2K3 cartoon or the 80's cartoon. It wasn't the live-action series or even the CGI movie. It was a world where many TMNT worlds met and intersected with each other, creating a world that no one else had ever seen or heard off. And we were trapped here with no way home, no way to reach our families, and no idea _how _we even got here.

We were stranded in an alien world.

…

Splinter had remained silent after he finished, carefully studying our expressions. After a moment he spoke, "Now that you have heard our story; will you tell us yours?"

I stiffened and squeezed Cleo's arm and my heart started jumping around anxiously in my ribcage. Cleo's face had remained calm, but I could see the nervousness in her eyes as she gazed at Splinter. We were silent for a while, not entirely sure what to say, where to begin.

"We were kidnapped." I spoke softly, finally breaking the silence, "We were at my house, having a sleepover. We-we were just hanging out, watching TV but-but…" I swallowed thickly and felt Cleo's arm tighten around me, "…we were ambushed. These men, in black suits, they broke into my house, and grabbed us…" I felt tears gathering in my eyes and I blinked rapidly to stop them, but a few fell down my cheeks anyway, "They d-drugged us and when we woke up, we-we were in that building, and then they-they..."

"They did _this _to us." Cleo interrupted her voice low. I bit my lip and looked down at my mutated hands and swallowed the tears that threatened to become a waterfall down my face. Cleo's arm was still around my shoulders, but I could feel her trembling slightly. It was hard to imagine that we had still been in that place less than 32 hours ago.

"How long were you there?" Leonardo asked, after a moment's silence.

"Wuh-weeks." I stuttered, my voice cracking again, "We were in there for _weeks_." I began to sob softly, the situation just being too much for me. Cleo held me closer and I felt her trembling worsen. The turtles were silent for a little bit, looks of pity and guilt painted on their faces. I went on like this for another 5 minutes or so before I finally calmed down, my cheeks sticky and wet with tears.

"S-sorry." I stammered, embarrassed that I had broke down so easily. I saw Splinter shake his head slowly, "Do not be sorry, Miss Anastasia. You and your friend have been through a terrible trial, and it has affected you greatly. You both have been done a terrible injustice." Cleo gave a soft, humorless laugh, "Ain't that the truth." She stated giving a pointed looked at her new tail.

"Ah, if you are not too offended by my asking, but exactly _how _did they do this to you?" Donatello asked his eyes narrowed in scientific curiosity. Cleo answered him this time, "Um they injected us with some sort of solution, which hurt like hell by the way."

Donatello's brow furrowed, "Did they do this multiple times or only once?" Cleo frowned and we both unconsciously raised our hands to the spot on our chests where we had received our injections, "They injected us with it almost daily, sometimes we would be left alone, but we were so out of it most of the time I couldn't tell you everything they did."

Donatello nodded slowly and rose from his spot on the chair. He walked over to us and leaned in front of us, observing us closely. I leaned back into the couch, feeling a little self-conscious, while Cleo merely raised an eye ridge.

"It appears you both have been mutated with different species of amphibian DNA." He finally said, rubbing his chin in thought. He turned to Cleo and said, "It appears that your DNA has been combined with a breed of mud salamander but I cannot tell whether if it's eastern or northern." Cleo blinked, "What's the difference?"

"Well one type has brown eyes, and the other has yellow, but yours are green. I'm guessing they're your natural eye color?" he asked. Cleo smiled and said, "Yup. They're all O'natural, a la Cleo." I saw Donatello's cheeks darken slightly and he quickly turned to me, coughing slightly. He then began observing me just as thoroughly as he did Cleo.

"Hmm." He hummed, "And you it seems…have been combined with a blue poison dart frog." I blinked a couple times, confused.

_I'm a frog? So…that's what the picture above my door meant…_

"How…how are you so sure that I'm a poison dart frog?" I asked confused how he had come to that conclusion so quickly. Donatello smiled at me and replied, "Well, for starters your skin color and pattern is exotic and unique to the poison dart frog family, and I wasn't so sure about it at first, but thinking back to what happened at the abandoned building, when… Cleo stopped me from touching you…" He paused and looked at me with a serious look on his face, "Those men collapsed because they came in contact with your skin, didn't they?"

I felt my stomach clench and I looked down at my hands in shame. "Yes, they did." I answered quietly, "But why does it have to do with-"

"Poison dart frogs secrete a toxin from their skin's pores when they feel threatened, usually causing temporary paralysis or, in some cases, death to the ones whom they come in physical contact with." Donatello explained.

"…Secrete?" I echoed, feeling slightly nauseous. Donatello continued, not noticing the ill look on my face, "Yes, all frogs, and many amphibians for that matter, secrete a mucous-like substance from their skin's pores, mostly to keep their skin hydrated, but poison dart frogs are widely known for their toxins, which is a defense mechanism in their case, in fact many natives have used these toxins in the tips of their arrows for hunting, or for medical purposes even, it's all quite fascinating-"

"Uh, Don? I think you should stop now." Michelangelo (thankfully) interrupted him. Cleo's face had turned slightly pale, which was hard to see due to the color, but it was there, and I was sure I had a look of complete terror on mine.

Don's eyes widened and he stood straight waving his hands in front of him, trying in vain to undo the damage, "A-ah but don't worry! I-I'm sure there's a way for you to control it and it's completely normal in amphibians," Our eyes went as wide as dinner-plates, "O-of course you're not _really _amphibians, you've only been mutated, which in itself is an incredible that it has advanced this far," Our jaws dropped, "I-I mean, not to say what happened to you wasn't horrible, it's just that something this complicated had happened so quickly and the results so unfeasible, and-and…I'll stop now." He quickly walked back to his spot on the armchair, cheeks completely flushed with embarrassment.

The silence went on for a moment before someone snorted; it was Mona Lisa beside me, "_Unfeasible_? Don, I seem to recall someone else in this room who used to be human and was mutated into a lizard." She stated crossing her arms over her chest, raising an eye-ridge at the purple-wearing turtle. He smiled nervously at the gecko-girl and rubbed the back of his neck, "But Mona, _your _mutation was due to an intense exposure to chemicals, radiation, and a nearby reptile; Cleo and Ana had a foreign component introduced _inside_ their bodies, completely rearranging their DNA and molecular structure, not only altering their physical structure to mimic the base where the DNA came from, but to also have similar defense mechanisms as the original base. Such an action is a huge feat in science."

Cleo frowned deeply, and spoke softly in a low voice, "_I _don't think this is a feat. Not at all." Don grimaced with a guilty look on his face. "You're right, forgive me, I forgot what the two of you had gone through. That was insensitive of me." Cleo looked at him with tired eyes, and replied, "Yeah." She wasn't mad at him and neither was I. Not really. We both were too exhausted to be angry. But after hearing this, a new question surfaced in my mind.

"Is it reversible?" I asked. The group looked at me surprised, so I continued, "I-I mean would it be possible to be changed back? Into our human forms? If it is possible to be changed like _this_, can't it be possible to have it undone?" I stared at the genius turtle expectantly, and saw Cleo do the same. If anyone could change us back, it would be Donatello.

Any hope I had left for being changed back to normal was shattered when I saw Donatello look sadly at me and replied, "I'm sorry, but to do something like reversing your mutation is virtually implausible. The fact that you had been mutated to this extent and _survived _is practically one in a million. If the two of you were the first to survive the mutation, there would be no guarantee that you would be able to live through something as dangerous and unstable as another one. Your entire molecular and DNA structure has completely transformed, and to change it back to its original form is incredibly dangerous and all but impossible. And even if you could survive the procedure, I wouldn't know where to begin to start developing one. I have no idea or knowledge of how you were mutated, other than the DNA injections, and I have no samples of your DNA's state, previous to your mutation, to work with. Even then, I would have to develop a procedure that would be successful and not harmful to either of you, which would take numerous experiments and research that would take months, possibly years to get right before it would be safe _and _successful. I'm sorry but…I don't think it can be done…"

I was in shock. My mind and body were numb. Everything seemed to fade in and out, and a horrible roaring echoed in my ears.

_It's not reversible. It's permanent. We're stuck like this. We can never be human again. We-we can't go home…_

Images flashed in my head. My friends, my school, my pets, my family; I would never see any of them again.

_My family…_

A terrible weight formed in my chest. I thought of my mother and sister.

_Mom…Dani…_

I would never see them again. I would never see my sister's violin recitals again, I would never see my mother get remarried, I would never see my sister graduate from high school, I would never see my mother grow old.

_I…this can't…oh God please!_

My vision faded in and out, and I slid off the couch and onto my knees. I could hear concerned voices around me but I paid no attention. My body was shaking and I couldn't see straight. I felt a hand on my shoulder and heard Venus say to me, "Ana are you alright?"

NO I wasn't fucking alright! Nothing would _ever _be alright, ever again! Didn't she get that? I wanted to scream this at her but my voice was gone; all I could manage were small gasping breaths. I heard Cleo answer instead, "N-no but p-please, I-I, _we _need some space. _Please_." She sounded like she was choking through sobs. Mona Lisa stood and said, "You can have my room, we already set it up for the both of you." I felt Cleo lead me up the stairs and into a room, how she managed to be able to walk after this astounded me, I could barely stop my legs from shaking.

Once were inside the room and the door was shut I felt myself slowly come back to reality. I was sitting on a lumpy, but soft, bed with Cleo sitting next to me rocking back and forth but holding me to her at the same time. She didn't say anything, but I could feel her shoulder shaking violently and heard her take sharp, shaky breaths from time to time. I, for some bizarre reason, was very calm. I leaned my head against her shoulder, burying my face in her red hair and breathed in the scent of Mona Lisa's strawberry shampoo.

"Cleo," I whispered softly, almost childishly, "I wanna go home." Tears ran slowly down my face, but I didn't sob or gasp. They just fell in silence, and dripped onto the plush comforter of the bed, my face calm and expressionless.

I felt Cleo shake harder and she squeezed me tighter to her, and buried her face into my short black hair. "Me too." I heard her whisper, her voice thick and cracking. I felt the top of my head become wet with her tears and I said nothing more. There wasn't anything left _to _say. No words of comfort or reassurance. No hope, no faith, nothing.

So we just sat there, held each other, and cried.

)-*!-$-!*-(

The family of mutants watched in silence and pity as the two amphibian girls disappeared into Mona's room, the red one supporting the blue one who seemed to be in shock. They closed the door and were silent for the rest of the night.

Donatello's face and body looked heavy with guilt as he frowned unhappily at the floor. He looked up to see his sensei put his hand on his shoulder. The old rat's eyes were kind and shone with sympathy.

"Do not blame yourself, my son. Miss Anastasia asked you a question and you answered it truthfully and honestly, which was the best thing you could have done." Donatello looked up at his father figure forlornly, "But Master…the looks on their faces…they-"

"Needed to hear the truth of their situation, and it was best to hear it sooner than later. Now they can grieve and begin the process of healing and acceptance." Splinter finished. He looked toward the closed door that the two girls had disappeared behind and felt immense pity for the unfortunate teens. No one should have their lives ripped away from them as they had. No one.

However, he had felt the nervousness and apprehension rolling of them in waves when they had told them their story. They were hiding something from them, what Splinter couldn't tell, but it was something. And he would find out soon. He always did.

But for now, Splinter would let them be. They had been through much, and needed time to adjust to their new lifestyle. They could ask questions later, perhaps he would ask them individually. The salamander, Cleo, was extremely protective of her younger companion, Ana, who was in turn, heavily influenced by her protector. He had a feeling that he would be able to get a straighter answer out of the young frog-girl; she was absolutely terrible at lying. Poor thing.

He sighed and walked slowly over to the paper doors which led to his personal chambers. He turned to his adoptive children and said, "Perhaps it is time to get some rest. It has been a long day."

Leonardo stood from his spot, "But Master, what will we do about them?"

The rat turned to his eldest son and replied, "These young women are in desperate danger, Leonardo and as such, are in need of our protection. I feel it would be safest that they would stay here with us." His youngest son smiled widely at this.

"Sweet! We get to keep them?" Michelangelo exclaimed. Venus frowned at him and scolded him, "Mikey, we are not _keeping_ them, we are _protecting_ them." He grinned sheepishly at the female turtle.

"Oh, right."

Raphael got up and stretched his arms, "Alright, I dunno bout the rest of you, but I'm beat. I'm going ta bed." He grunted. The others made sounds of agreement and Splinter walked into his room, "Goodnight my children. I will see you early in the morning for your training." Some of the mutants gave soft groans but gave their goodnights as well.

Raphael looked over to Mona Lisa and said, "Looks like yer bunking with me tonight?" The gecko-girl smirked and said, "Looks like." And they both headed into his bedroom.

Michelangelo climbed swiftly up one of the ladders and called out, "G'night!" and disappeared behind a door covered in superhero posters.

Donatello disappeared into his lab, where he spent most nights, and closed the caution-taped door behind him. The soft glow of computer screens shone underneath the door and Leonardo knew he would be up for most of the night.

Leonardo and Venus exchanged their own polite goodnights and went to their respective rooms, each pausing to look at the room the two new girls had gone into.

Inside Raphael's room, the mutant couple had snuggled (yes Raphael actually _snuggled_) into a large, worn hammock. Mona Lisa rested her head on her boyfriend's chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. She felt him shift slightly and heard him murmur, "Hey…you ok?"

Mona Lisa sighed and lifted her head to look at her boyfriend whose face was set in an uncharacteristic look of mild concern, something that was seen very rarely, by very few.

"I just…I know what those girls are going through you know? I mean, waking up in an entirely different body, having bad guys after you, basically having your entire life ripped out from under you." And he did know. They both did.

She sighed again, "I can imagine what they're going through right now, and I don't know how to help them. I mean, where they're at right now, I was two years ago, and it sucked." Mona Lisa rested her chin on Raphael's chest and her honey eyes met his glowing, golden ones.

"Why do people do this Raph? Why do they hurt other people, for their own selfish reasons and gains?" she asked him. Raphael regarded her for a second and replied, "Becuz' 98% of the people out dere, are total assholes who are too blinded by their needs to care bout other people."

The gecko-girl snorted. Raphael smirked and ran his three-fingered hand through her chestnut hair and wrapped an arm around her, "Well dere ain't much we can do right now; jus' let em sleep and we can deal with it in da morning." He told her. She nodded and closed her eyes, and he did the same. They laid there in the dark, wondering about the two new mutants who had come so unexpectedly into their lives, and what to come of them. Soon they both were asleep.

)-*!-$-!*-(

"They **ESCAPED**?"

There was a loud smack and a body slammed violently into a wall. Five feet away, the sadistic, insane woman who was responsible for the two girls' suffering stood, her face twisted into a mask of rage and madness. Her cold, serpent-like eyes glared fiercely at the unfortunate messenger, one of the men who had been part of the group who attacked the girls and had been knocked unconscious by one of the turtles. There was blood dribbling out of the corner of his mouth, and his dark glasses had been knocked off, revealing his wide panicked eyes.

"I-it wasn't our fault, Doctor B," he cried as the woman in hot pink began advancing on him, "there were-"

"Not your fault!" snarled Doctor B, "You _idiots _couldn't handle two weak little girls, it sure as hell _is_ your fault, you incompetent little-"

"There were other mutants there!" the man bravely interrupted her. Doctor B paused and then grabbed the man by the front of his shirt and yanked him up.

"What do you mean there were _others_?" she hissed, leaning in close to his frightened face.

"Th-there were turtles!" he stammered, "Five of them! And a gecko! They had weapons and ambushed us!" The doctor's eyes narrowed and he continued eagerly, "A-and that frog-girl! She poisoned half of the men and killed them!"

The doctor frowned and was silent. Then she released him and he slumped against the wall in relief. She walked over to a metal cart where multiple medicals tools laid strewn about, some of them rusty and covered in dried blood, and placed her hand on it.

"So," Doctor B whispered, staring out a nearby window where the city lights shone, "They've already made contact with the others…"

The man behind her nodded eagerly and said, "Y-yes! But we were taken by surprise that time! Now that we know how many there are and what they're capable of, we will be ready next time! I won't fail you again Doctor B."

"No," she murmured, her hand discreetly closing around a scalpel, "You won't."

And before the man could react, she spun around quickly and sliced the blade across his exposed neck. The man's eyes bulged as warm red blood flew from his neck, and covered himself in his own life's blood. Doctor B didn't flinch when the warm liquid sprayed her face and body and watched with silent malicious glee as the man fell to the floor, gurgling and convulsing, and lay in a rapidly growing red pool. Soon he stopped moving completely.

_This isn't going at all as planned_; she thought and twirled the crimson-stained blade in her hand. _They weren't meant to make contact this soon, not this early in the experiment and with my only two living subjects, _she frowned and licked the blood off that had gotten on her lips, deep in thought.

"_Must _you do that, Belladonna? It's simply ghastly." A masculine voice spoke from the shadows. Doctor B turned sharply at the sound, startled, then annoyed.

"I told you _not _to _do _that." She growled as a man wearing a dark suit and glasses stepped into the light. He raised an eyebrow and smirked, "My apologies." He responded, not sounding sorry in the slightest. Doctor B scoffed and glared at him.

"So I suppose you heard what's happened to my experiment?" she asked him, crossing her blood-spotted arms across her chest. The man hummed and nodded, "Yes, I managed to hear what he had to say before he came to see you." He glanced at the rapidly cooling body slumped on the floor and sighed.

"You know, we won't have any employees left if you keep slaughtering them." He said dryly. Doctor B shrugged and said, "Less paychecks to fill." The man sighed again, and Doctor B scowled.

"So what do we do now?" She demanded, her eyes narrowed, "The plan was that once we had living subjects that reached the final phase of the mutation, we would mold them to be our weapons, _then _unleash them on your precious _turtles_." She spat the last word like it was a curse.

The man gave a thin smile, "Now? Now we do nothing."

Doctor B's head shot up and her nostrils flared, "_Nothing_?" she spat, "We do _nothing_? That was _not _the plan, my experiment-"

"Your experiment," the man interrupted, "is, as of the moment, on hold."

This pissed off the hot pink-wearing woman even more. "You _bastard_, those girls are _my _property." She snarled, "And _I _should decide what happens with them, _not _you."

The man's eyes narrowed behind his glasses, "Do not forget who is paying for your little experiment, Belladonna." The man said coldly, "Without my funds, you'd be back in your little basement playing with mice." Doctor's B's face contorted into a hideous grimace.

"Besides," he continued, "This could be the beginning of something even _better_."

Doctor B's dark eyes narrowed in suspicion, "What exactly do you mean Bishop?"

The EPA agent smiled eerily and replied, "Why, think of the possibilities my dear," he walked over to where she was standing, casually stepping over the body, "If your subjects are with the turtles, we can observe how they interact and adapt with more of their kind. They'll feel safe and protected. They will become close with the turtles and learn how to use their abilities. Why, they might even _breed_ with one of them."

Doctor B's eyes widened and a malicious grin spread across her face, "Oooh that would be _wonderful_!" she cooed, "Little mutant babies to dissect and analyze! The possibilities would be endless!"

Bishop smirked at the woman's glee, "Yes, and when it's all done, you'll have your subjects back and we can get back on track with the original plan. It's all a matter of patience."

The doctor paused and put a bloody finger to her chin, "Well, I suppose it _is _worth the wait." She concluded and Bishop chuckled.

The agent then walked out through the door, Doctor B walking beside him. They walked speedily through the halls, discussing how to alter and postpone their original plans, and talked about any further problems they might have.

" We'll be needing more subjects soon. Is the dimensional doorway generator (_A/N: wow that's a mouthful xD_) repaired yet?" Bishop asked as they passed an employee carting away, yet _another_, failed experiment.

"No, the damage to the power core was too great, we'll need another one." Doctor B answered.

Bishop frowned darkly, "The only reason it was damaged was because you threw one of the scientists _into _the power core." Doctor B scoffed and waved her hand dismissively, "Details, details." She replied.

"Don't do it again," he warned in a low tone, "Plutonium and alien technology is _not_ easy to come by or cheap."

"Fine, but the little prick should have brought me decaf, I can't _stand _black coffee."

**Eskimo: And that's all for right now! Oh and if you're wondering how old everyone is:**

_Leonardo: 20_

_Raphael: 20_

_Donatello: 20_

_Michelangelo: 20_

_Venus: 20_

_Mona Lisa: 21_

_Cleo: 19_

_Ana: 18_

**Bunnie: Now REVIEW!**


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